Photographer
Robin Price
THESE luminous specks floating in the half-light look like delightful fireflies. In fact, they are potent markers of air pollution.
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To tell how many dirty particles linger, you usually need data (or to blow your nose). Artist and environmental researcher Francis Pope at the University of Birmingham, UK, have devised a way to depict pollution levels in Earth鈥檚 dirtiest and cleanest places.
Price walked through this street behind Port Talbot鈥檚 steelworks in Wales, UK, with a pole covered in LEDs and a particle sensor. The probability of the LEDs flashing is based on the particle readings: more particles means more lights, revealing the invisible pollution, he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 carrying a 3-metre pole, taking a long exposure,鈥� says Price. 鈥淥nly things that are very bright or still appear in the image.鈥� Price disappears because he moves too fast for the exposure.
Interested in air quality? Come see air pollution expert Benjamin Barratt speak at New Scientist Live this October
This photo revealed there were 20 to 30 micrograms of particles less than 2.5 micrometres across per cubic metre of air. This is at the top end of the World 午夜福利1000集合 Organization鈥檚 recommended maximum average daily exposure to particulate matter. Inhaling pollutants is linked to shortened lives and mental health problems.
The steelworks probably create much of the pollution, but they are the major local employer so nobody wants them to close. Price says this uneasy balance between economics, environmental degradation and chronic health problems plays out in the other locations he photographed, from Mexico City to Delhi.
