A SUCCESSFUL project monitoring air quality in one of Sheffield's most polluted suburbs is being extended to other suburbs.
A pilot scheme has been encouraging residents in the Tinsley area to check the atmosphere in their own gardens for the last five years.
Tinsley suffers from air pollution because it is near the M1 and other major roads.
Now the South Yorkshire Care
4Air project is being spread out to Handsworth, Catcliffe, Darnall, Burngreave, Heeley, Park Hill, Brinsworth and Broomhall.
Also involved is the city council and local health groups.
Working through community forums, local people are able to identify where air pollution is worst, and then work with the council's environmental protection team to look at ways of improving the situation.
Volunteers have been checking nitrogen dioxide levels in Tinsley using diffusion tubes.
The simple devices are changed monthly and recordings are logged in order to assess current pollution levels.
The log sheets are sent with the exposed tubes to the laboratory for analysis.
The laboratory results are then sent back to communities every month usually in the form of a chart.
The whole process usually takes volunteers no more than one hour per month.
Scheme worker Neil Parry said he worked with local community organisations who helped identify where the monitors needed to go, often in back gardens.
"We have learned from our experience in Tinsley that by finding out exactly where the problems are with air pollution, local people concerned about their health and quality of life can work in partnership with the council and other organisations to make change."
It is hoped that the scheme will extend further across the city in the coming months.
Any communities that are interested in getting involved should call Neil Parry on 0114 285 9911.
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