Sir, – It is somewhat ironic that Dublin has adopted "a breath of fresh air" as the slogan for its city break tourist campaign to give it an edge over its competitors. A recent air quality survey ranked Dublin 18th out of 23 European cities ("Dublin does not do enough to protect air quality, says survey", March 31st).
As a cyclist I regularly encounter buses, coaches and cars belching out black smoke. In recent times I have noticed more black grime when I wash my face after commuting, presumably from the increased popularity of diesel vehicles with their higher particulate matter emissions; it’s harder to gauge the effect of the invisible nitrogen oxide emissions – a fact some vehicle manufacturers have exploited at the expense of public health.
It doesn’t seem particularly reassuring that the Environmental Protection Agency does not detect any increasing trend regarding such pollutants. It seems curious, as diesel vehicles are known to have higher emissions of both these pollutants, and in the case of Volkswagen, up to 40 times higher for noxious emissions than under test conditions! Perhaps it is relevant that the aforementioned survey highlights doubts that the location of monitors accurately represents air pollution in Dublin. Some of Dublin’s rebranding budget might usefully be spent monitoring air quality to ensure it is accurately measured and that we know just how fresh our air is. – Yours, etc,
JOHN O’GRADY,
Dublin 20.