A new initiative to monitor air quality across the metropolitan area of Limerick has been launched.

Led by Limerick City and County Council's Active Travel team, this programme will see the installation of N02 (nitrogen dioxide) diffusion tubes at 15 locations to allow air quality to be established and compared.

The locations selected have been previously assessed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where it ties in with upcoming Active Travel projects, to build on the existing records in each area. They include:

• Ballycummin Road

• R510 Quinn s Cross to Raheen

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• Fr. Russell Road

• Dooradoyle Road

• Childers Road (West)

• Childers Road (East)

• Plassey Park Road

• Corbally Road

• Mill Road

• Milk Market

• Bellefield

• Ennis Road (Lawn Tennis Club)

• Ennis Road (Gaelic Grounds)

• TUS Moylish

• Old Cratloe Road.

The device consists of a small plastic tube filled with a chemical called triethanolamine, which reacts with N02 in the air to produce a yellow-brown compound. The intensity of the colour is proportional to the concentration of N02 in the air.

Senior Executive Engineer with Limerick City & County Council's Active Travel team, Sinead Kennedy, commented: "The success of Active Travel schemes across Limerick and elsewhere can be measured in a number of different ways and air quality is a key component of that. We're conducting this work to compare nitrogen dioxide level in the air around Limerick city to norms across the European Union. This information will allow our citizens to make informed choices regarding the use of Active Travel infrastructure going forward."

The initiative will initially be carried out for a period of 12 months.