St Finian’s trio continue air quality research project that was begun for 2024 event

‘Air-lert: How harmful is the air we breathe in?’ is the title of the project submitted by St Finian’s College students Noah Callum Hill from Rathconnell, Sarah Higgins from Delvin, and Donagh Carey from Rochfortbridge.

The three, supervised by teacher Martina Roache, took part in the competition last year and this year’s entry built on the research they had conducted into the level of PM 2.5 particulates in the air, and saw them create a device that provides real-time alerts on PM 2.5 levels, changing colour based on the air quality index.

In November 2023, the EPA released a new air quality forecast that extends over three days and the student team admitted they were surprised to find a significant variation between the figures in the EPA forecast and the data that was coming to them from their own monitoring devices, which they had set up as part of their research for the project.

Their research looked at the readings that show up on school buses and in domestic settings and they sound an alarm over the levels of particulates arising from the different methods of home heating.

A shock to Sarah was how high the readings went on a school bus when someone chose to vape on the vehicle, even though it is against the rules. Noah greatly enjoyed working on the creation of the sensor device and Donagh says that 25% of Irish homes still have open fires but that exposure to the particulates from these can shorten lives by up to 18 months.