System for monitoring air quality set up on busy Kirkcaldy road

Fife Council has introduced the latest in air pollution monitoring technology on a busy Kirkcaldy road.

Money from a Scottish Government air quality grant has allowed the council to expand a trial of monitoring systems.

The system has been installed at a junction at St Clair Street in Kirkcaldy following a similar installation on Rosyth’s Admiralty Road last year.

The principal pollutants are all invisible to the human eye but there is a growing body of evidence they can have a negative impact on health.

Protective services senior manager Roy Stewart said: “Air quality is fast becoming one of the key public health priorities in our society and the trialling of this latest monitoring technology for road traffic pollutants will allow us to have a greater understanding of these pollutants and the means by which to tackle these issues.”

The outcomes will be reported later this year in the council’s annual report and this will decide whether the scheme will be rolled out to other areas like Cupar’s Bonnygate and Appin Crescent in Dunfermline.