Horizons

Nature events and notices

Dublin on trial

A novel research project to test levels of environmental pollutants will go ahead in Dublin on Wednesday. The trial, which is part of an international research study, will see up to 150 volunteers wearing badges for a 12-hour period to identify the levels of the cancer-causing chemical, benzene, in the environment. The project, which will also monitor levels of benzene and other chemicals at 20 sites around the city, is part of the Population Exposure to Air Pollutants in Europe (PEOPLE) project.

"We don't think there will be a major problem with benzene in Dublin. In fact, we think it will be one of the cleanest cities in the survey. But, what the project will show is how people's lifestyle choices - specifically whether they are smokers or live with smokers and what mode of transport they commute to work on - will influence their levels of exposure," says Dr Pat Goodman of the physics department at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

The results will also be valuable for comparison purposes with other participating cities including Brussels, Lisbon, Bucharest, Ljubljana and Madrid. See http://physics.dit.ie/people.html for more details.

Tidy take-aways

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has taken a proactive step to clean up some of the worst offenders of littering by introducing a "Tidy Take Away" competition. And rather than resorting to the approach of naming and shaming (see Ecoweb), the council has instead chosen to award the cleanest fast-food restaurants.

This year's winners are Marsella's Take Away in Churchtown and The Miami Café in Dún Laoghaire. All take-away outlets in the area were invited to participate and each were audited over four months and assessed according to the measures taken to prevent litter and maintain a tidy appearance in the surrounding area.

Dublin cycling conference

Making Dublin a bike-friendly city is the theme of a cycling conference in the Joly Theatre, Hamilton Building, Trinity College, Dublin, on Saturday next. Danish urban design consultant Jan Gehl will explain the success of cycling in Copenhagen, while John Franklin from the British Cycle Campaign Network will speak about cycling planning and campaigning in Britain. Members of the Dublin and Galway cycling campaigns will also speak about lessons learned and plans for the future for better cycling conditions in this country.

Full details on www.connect.ie/dcc/ccn/index.html

Whales and dolphins forum

Interested in finding out more about whales and dolphins? If so, consider participating in a one-day workshop on field-skills, recording and species identification in the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve on Saturday, May 22nd.

More details from Padraig Whooley from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group. Contact 023-31911 or padraig.whooley@iwdg.ie