Sadiq Khan has announced plans to install air filtration systems in 200 London schools. This is with a view to launching a city-wide rollout.
The devices will target PM2.5 emissions and will be fitted in every classroom in schools ‘spread across London’ later this year. The additional £2.7 million funding forms part of the Mayor’s 2024/25 budget, which will be voted on by the London Assembly on Thursday.
A City Hall research project is currently underway to ascertain the best type of air filter that will be used. This is due to be completed in May, with installation of filters in the first pilot schools to follow later in the year.
READ MORE: TfL wants to take on National Rail lines and turn them into London Overground routes
When asked which schools were to have the tech installed, a spokesperson for the GLA told MyLondon that they have not been chosen yet. They added that every school in London is in an area that currently breaches WHO PM2.5 standards when asked if Mr Khan was concerned about any particular areas of the capital as regards to pollution near schools.
In addition to the air filters themselves, officials say the funding will pay for school engagement, educational materials, monitoring the impact of the programme and maintenance of the filters.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) said in a statement: “Bold measures introduced by the mayor have already helped cut the number of educational establishments with illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution by 94 per cent – from 793 schools in 2016 to 50 in 2019 (the most recent year for which data is available).
“Due to ambitious air quality action by the mayor, all educational establishments are estimated to be legally compliant with the NO2 annual mean UK limit by 2025. (1). However, most schools in London still exceed the World Health Organization interim guideline for particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) (2).”
London’s ‘most polluted schools’
In June 2022, researchers at the Eco Experts combined air pollution research from the Greater London Authority (GLA) showing the amount of pollution in each borough with the authority’s London Atmospheric Emissions Inventory’s (LAEI) data on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions in every London school. Using this method, they came up with a list of the city’s ‘most polluted schools’.
The results considered the NO2 levels of every school in the capital, along with the emissions of particulate matter that’s 10 micrometres or less (PM10), particulate matter that’s 2.5 micrometres or less (PM2.5), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in their borough. All of these harmful gases were measured on a different scale, so writers calculated the London average for each of them.
They then worked out what each borough should score if it’s to meet that average, based on its population and area. Below are the results from the time.
In 2018, the GLA conducted its own analysis using the Ofsted list of all Local Authority funded schools. Below is a table of schools that exceeded the annual legal nitrogen dioxide limit of 40ug/m3 at the time.
Don’t miss out on the biggest stories from across the city, including the latest about the transport network. Sign up to MyLondon’s The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.
