Sources of air pollution

In recent years, the number of people making journeys by plane has increased greatly. This is good news for tourism and the transport industry, but it's not good for the environment.

Planes use a large amount of fuel, and that means they produce a lot of carbon dioxide. This is one of the “Greenhouse gases” that is responsible for climate change. Some families are helping reduce CO2 emissions by not flying and having holidays closer to home.

Your family could help on holiday by taking a ferry to neighbouring islands, France or the UK.

Road traffic is one of the biggest sources of pollution in Jersey and the number of the number of vehicles on our roads is always increasing. Vehicles like cars, motorbikes, vans, buses and lorries run mostly on petrol or diesel. When petrol and diesel are burnt in the engine, pollutants are given out from the exhaust of the vehicles.

The main pollutants that you might find near busy roads are nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. These are all emitted close to the ground in the air that we breathe. They may lead to health problems especially when air pollution is high. Bigger vehicles with bigger engines put more pollution into the atmosphere. Road transport is the biggest source of nitrogen oxides in Jersey.

Road traffic is one of the biggest sources of pollution in Jersey and the number of vehicles on our roads is always increasing. Vehicles like cars, motorbikes, vans, buses and lorries run mostly on petrol or diesel. When petrol and diesel are burnt in the engine, pollutants are given out from the exhaust of the vehicles.

The main pollutants that you might find near busy roads are nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. These are all emitted close to the ground in the air that we breathe. They may lead to health problems especially when air pollution is high. Bigger vehicles with bigger engines put more pollution into the atmosphere. Road transport is the biggest source of nitrogen oxides in Jersey.

Rubbish on Jersey is collected and burned to make power. On its way to the power plant the rubbish starts to decompose which releases methane gas. Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, which means that it also contributes towards climate change. When the rubbish is burned it releases carbon dioxide too. So we should all try to keep the amount of rubbish we make down and recycle what we can.

When there was lots of industry and people used coal to heat their homes St. Helier used to be very dirty. Now, the main source of pollution in St. Helier is road transport – cars; vans, lorries, buses and coaches. Air pollution is worse near to busy roads but better away from the traffic.

The weather can help to make pollution levels lower by blowing the pollutants away. On a very windy day air pollution is often very low.

'Industry' means making things in factories. Industry uses fuel, so can be a source of air pollution, such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Both sulphur dioxide and nitrogen can form acid rain in the atmosphere where causes damage to plants and buildings.

Today many large industries are located on the outskirts of towns, although pollution can be transported into towns and cities by the wind.

Animals like cows and sheep spend lots of time eating grass and digesting it. Methane is a colourless gas that is produced in their stomachs when bacteria break down the food that they eat. The gas is then released when they burp or break wind!

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas (after carbon dioxide), which means it contributes to climate change

You might think that air pollution is a problem for St. Helier only but often the wind carries pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen and sulphur dioxide into villages and surrounding areas.

In the summer, nitrogen oxides can react with other pollutants in sunlight to make ozone. On very hot and still summer days in the countryside, levels of ozone can build up to harmful levels. This can affect our breathing, especially people with asthma or other breathing difficulties.

As Jersey is an island lots of the food and supplies people need for everyday life arrive by boats and ships. Large boats carrying lots of heavy goods burn a lot of fuel which makes pollution. Shipping is a major source of Sulphur Dioxide as well as other pollutants and greenhouse gases made by burning fuel.

The weather can have a have an effect on air pollution. Wet, windy days usually mean that air quality is good. This is because rain washes pollutants out of the air, and the wind spreads the pollution so that it’s not in the one place. (This is known as dispersion.)

Air quality can be poor when it is very still. On hot, sunny, summer days, when it's not very windy, a gas called ozone is formed by chemical reactions between other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide. The reactions are helped by sunlight. In winter, when it's very cold but not very windy, cold air can get trapped under a layer of warmer air above it. When this happens, the layer of warmer air acts like a ceiling. Air pollution is trapped near the ground and can’t escape to disperse.

Jersey Zoo is home to over 130 different types of animals. They make lots of waste which is a source of methane, a greenhouse gas.

Over 150,000 people visit the zoo every year as it is a big tourist attraction. All these extra journeys along with all the deliveries of food and supplies by trucks add to the road traffic pollution such as Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulphur Dioxide.

When visiting the zoo it is best to use the bus or car share with friends and parents.

Most power, or electricity, that we use is made from burning fuels like coal, gas or oil at power stations. Electricity is made on Jersey by burning waste like your household rubbish. When fuel is burnt, sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and particle pollutants are given off. Both sulphur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen can form acid rain in the atmosphere which causes damage to plants and buildings. Natural gas is a cleaner fuel but still produces oxides of nitrogen when it is burnt. Power generation also produces greenhouse gases which can cause climate change.

As well as lots of food and items arriving by boats, ferries bring hundreds of thousands of people to Jersey every year. There are ferries which carry lorries for more goods and ferries that carry people and cars for holidays and commuting. The ferries burn a lot of fuel which produces pollution such as PM10. All the extra cars they bring to Jersey also means there is more traffic and pollution on the roads.