A new interactive website has shown some of the worst affected areas for air pollution in Bristol and across the UK.
Addresspollution.org allows you to type in your postcode to check the level of air pollution. It also advises whether there are grounds for action to be taken if the levels exceed the legal limits imposed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Every address in the UK has been ranked according to its air pollution levels, relative to other addresses in the country. This number, the percentile ranking, makes it easy to compare addresses.
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The higher the percentile ranting the worse the air pollution is in that area. It breakdowns down the levels of three main pollutants at that particular postcode known as PM2.5, PM10 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
Nationally, more than 97 per cent of addresses exceed WHO limits for at least one of three key pollutants. 70 per cent of addresses breach WHO limits for all three. Many of Bristol's most popular tourist attractions are located near some of the most congested areas of the city, meaning air pollution levels may be beyond their control.
The website reveals the Clifton Suspension Bridge area as one of the top polluted addresses in the UK, perhaps unsurprisingly, with thousands of cars making the crossing each day. That area is in the 88th national percental and is three times the legal amount of NO2 found in this area at 31.23mcg/m3. Exposure for a year or more to 30mcg leads to a 5.5 per cent increased risk of disease-related mortality.
Park Street is one of the many areas that will be covered by Bristol City Council's looming Clean Air Zone. It's a popular area with high levels of traffic and footfall, home to some of the city's biggest attractions like the Bristol Museum and the cathedral. The area by College Green ranks 68th on the website's percentile scale indicating it has high levels of air pollution.
Staying near the city centre, Wapping Wharf is a vibrant, bustling hub along the harbourside but is also near a hugely popular commuter route. Museum Street, alongside the Cargo development and the M Shed, which is in the 64th percentile in the UK with 'high levels of pollution' traced. There is more than double the limit of pollutant PM2.5 in this area, which can heighten asthma and jeopardise lung functions.
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Out in Patchway, there are lower levels of pollution by Aerospace Bristol but it still falls into the 'significant air pollution' category in the 53rd percentile in the UK. The area next to Clifton Downs, currently still home to Bristol Zoo, is in the lower half of the UK's addresses in the 42nd national percentile.
Journeying even further out of the city, one of Bristol's newest attractions The Wave is at the lower end of the scale in the 38th percentile nationally. It suggests there are medium levels of pollution in this area.
The map, created by the non-profit group the Central Office of Public Interest (Copi) and Imperial College London, combined 20,000 readings to produce pollution estimates every 20 metres across the UK.
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