Air still clean despite volcano

The North West was on the receiving end of quite a good deal of ash and dust recently as pollutants were spewed in this direction by the infamous Icelandic volcano.

A quick look at the Air Quality Monitoring website shows a few spikes in the graph for pollutants in urban Londonderry. The normal rating in Londonderry for air pollution is given as 'low', although this did rise to 'moderate' recently. The Air Quality monitors noted a rise in pollutants such as Nitrogen Oxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Ozone. However it is unclear whether this is connected to the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

But the Public Health Agency (PHA) said there was no cause for concern.

A spokesperson for the PHA said: "The Public Health Agency has confirmed that the update issued on 27 April 2010 remains relevant. They confirmed that from the public health perspective the level of risk has not changed. The volcano remains active and so we are continuing to monitor the situation along with our health protection colleagues in England; Scotland and Wales. Further updates will be issued if the situation changes."

The original statement issued at the beginning of the eruptions advised: "The Pubic Health Agency ( PHA) believes Icelandic volcanic ash currently poses no threat to public health here. Data gathered so far from existing health surveillance systems has revealed that the number of people who have reported conditions, including respiratory symptoms, itchy eyes and sore throats, does not indicate that the volcanic plume has had a significant impact on public health. This is not unexpected as only small quantities of ash have been deposited on the UK. Because of that, and as the plume has largely dispersed away from the UK, scientists have concluded that the ash currently poses no threat to public health in the UK."

Dr Lorraine Doherty, Assistant Director of Public Health, Health Protection, PHA, said: "We have been working in close partnership with health protection colleagues in Scotland, Wales and England and the Met Office to ensure that the public has been kept fully informed on the potential health risks posed by the volcanic ash. We now believe that there is currently no threat to public health."

The Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, Health Protection Agency, Health Protection Scotland, Public Health Wales and the Met Office will continue to monitor the situation and issue any further advice or updates as necessary.