0:00
The problem hasn't gone away, it hasn't gone away for two reasons.
0:03
The first reason is the town's topography.
0:05
And this is the low-lying town.
0:07
And oftentimes when you get those quiet,
0:10
still cold nights in winter,
0:12
particularly in the Montagenerie and into February,
0:14
we have them that the air gets trapped
0:17
and that the particles that are harmful to people,
0:21
particularly with asthma, COPD,
0:24
and other respiratory conditions,
0:26
those particles get trapped in the air.
0:28
And that's the smog that we see.
0:30
What the early stages of this research has found
0:34
is that these particles are coming
0:38
from fossil fuels that have been burnt,
0:41
whether it is smokey cold,
0:42
that is coming in here illegally,
0:44
which I know it has been sold here.
0:47
And also wood that hasn't been seasoned, that's wet,
0:50
that's immature wood that hasn't been allowed to season
0:54
for a couple of years.
0:56
And you've long pointed to the former there,
0:58
smokey cold as a chief cause of this.
1:01
Smokey cold, yeah, when I attended there evening
1:05
in a library there a couple of weeks ago,
1:08
and they were talking about what they found
1:10
and by identifying the particles,
1:12
the certainly smokey cold was one part of it,
1:15
and certainly the other part was burning wood.
1:20
If you burn wood that season,
1:22
it doesn't leave these particles,
1:25
the wood is mature and it hasn't been allowed
1:27
to season and dry, that's where the issue arises.
1:31
And a huge amount of that is education.
1:35
We all see the ads for people coming into town,
1:37
selling coal, you know, you might think it's cheaper,
1:41
you might think the heat is better off but,
1:43
but in the long term, and the implications for people's health
1:49
is not good because of the particles that come off,
1:51
the smokey cold, and that is why
1:53
the 26th County certainly are smoke free zones.
1:57
So, smokey cold area, but we know that smokey cold
2:03
is being sold, and equally,
2:07
somebody chaps down a tree after a storm,
2:09
leaves it on a couple of weeks and next thing,
2:11
they burn it, when it hasn't been allowed to season.
2:15
So these are the two big, obviously, the cars,
2:19
they burning diesel and petrol, that doesn't help,
2:23
but they're finding from this research
2:25
that they've done so far, the town air research team
2:28
that they find that it is fuel the people are burning
2:30
in their fires and their stoves,
2:31
causing the particles in the air.
2:33
So is it your view, Mary, that this is entirely down
2:36
to consumer behavior and that if people make a different
2:39
decision, if they decide not to purchase those harmful fuels,
2:43
and this won't be considered as it usually is,
2:45
the worst town in Ireland for air quality?
2:48
Yeah, I think there's a whole education piece here
2:51
to educate the general public about what,
2:54
if they still have a noble fireplace,
2:58
or if they still have a range that takes a cold or a tics wood,
3:04
or if they have a little stove,
3:06
then what they put into it is so important that they're aware
3:09
that they should be using the smokeless cold
3:11
or they should be using seasoned wood,
3:14
or even tarf is better, but it's just to be aware
3:18
that what you put into it is causing that smug
3:21
that we see in those quiet, still cold nights.
3:24
That's where that's coming from,
3:25
and that's with irritating people
3:27
that do have respiratory conditions.
3:29
So Claire County Council now teaming up
3:31
with researchers from the University of Galway
3:34
and University College Cork on this project,
3:37
the town air project.
3:38
Can you tell us a bit about what it consists of
3:40
and what it will mean for NS?
3:44
Well, they're currently doing a survey to ask all homeowners
3:49
to take part in the town air survey,
3:51
and this will kind of help shape it,
3:53
or help their future for NS,
3:57
because we are committed to improving their quality in NS,
3:59
and this town air project is usually important.
4:03
I myself have asthma,
4:04
and I'm also the chair of NS Tidy Towns,
4:06
so this is something I've taken a great interest in.
4:09
So I'm asking the general public to engage in the survey,
4:13
and there's also paper copies of the survey available
4:17
in Raskunke and Karn.
4:19
I think they'll be available too within the library service,
4:22
but there's also one that's available online
4:25
to engage it and just tell us what you're doing.
4:27
So that will form policy in the future,
4:31
regarding grants for upgrading house heating,
4:33
home heating systems for policing,
4:37
how cold is sold, and if it's getting in,
4:40
and educating people about if they are burning solid fuel,
4:44
that they're burning the right types of solid fuel,
4:47
they might be healthy,
4:49
but they could have a child or a neighbor,
4:51
or a family member with COPD or asthma,
4:54
or a respiratory condition,
4:57
that it's important that they're able to breathe clean
5:01
Based on your engagement with some of the people
5:03
that are spearheading this project in NS Mary,
5:05
how confident are you that this could have
5:08
a significant impact on the town,
5:09
and that it could go a long way to reversing
5:13
that, I suppose, every negative trend
5:16
when it comes to air quality that we've seen
5:18
in the last few years.
5:20
Well, I think to affect change,
5:22
they're doing something that's incredibly important,
5:24
and that's where they're dealing and working with teenagers.
5:27
So they're engaging with students from Rice College,
5:30
Colossumorance and Florence College,
5:32
and that's how you affect change.
5:33
If they can see what's happening,
5:36
they'll go home and they'll say to the parents
5:37
or the grandparents,
5:38
they shouldn't be using that.
5:40
This is the future is these young people.
5:42
So I really believe that they're going
5:45
about it the right way,
5:46
by gathering all this data, all of this information,
5:50
dealing with our younger constituents here
5:54
from the three schools,
5:55
and I think by that,
5:57
dealing with all of those people and educating them,
5:59
and putting all that information in,
6:01
so we can make a considered decision
6:04
and have a considered opinion
6:06
at the end of this process,
6:07
at the end of this survey.
6:09
Just to conclude, Mary,
6:11
if people want to contribute to that survey,
6:16
it's available as a certificate electronically,
6:20
the print copy is available
6:21
from the reception at ours, Coontaine Chlor.
6:24
You can also get information
6:26
from greenerclareclareclarecocole.ie,
6:30
and also the town air project
6:33
of for more information,
6:34
the University of Goaway.ie,
6:36
forward slash town air,
6:39
is where you can get the information
6:41
and there's also a QR code
6:43
that people can just click on,
6:47
with their phones and their,
6:50
with the camera on their phones,