London Olympics impact on pollution levels: A study

To measure the impact that London’s 2012 Olympic Games is going to have on pollution, the University of Leicester is planning to deploy three CityScan scanners, as part of the NERC funded ClearfLo (Clean Air for London) experiment, where 3D mapping of nitrogen dioxide concentrations will be carried out.

The devices will measure the air quality over every point in the centre of London from three locations – starting July 20, 2012 – including a 30-storey building in Kensington and a 14-storey building in Chelsea.

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CityScan technology can be thought of as a pollution radar and is highly accurate – especially compared with existing technology which can only produce readings in hotspot locations, using technology such as NOx boxes, which are chemiluminescent measurements of NOx.

A study of air pollution taken during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, released in May 2012 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that the increased levels of air pollution drove up blood pressure and blood-clotting factors.