Hi, my name is Sarah. Im a mum and resident of Fleetwood with a background in academic research. Im working with Jess Brown and local protest group Action Against Jamieson Road Landfill. We are looking to create an opportunity for us to take back control of our air quality. I would like us to invest in 4 calibrated air monitors so we have independent, highly specific and legally defensible evidence. I would like us to create a body of data to verify our specific exposure to hydrogen sulphide on a daily, hourly and minute-by-minute basis. Currently we feel disempowered because we rely on the regulator (the Environment Agency) to do this; and we have reason to doubt they are meeting the accuracy and frequency requirements needed. Each monitor is £399 + £20 carriage. I am proposing we recruit 4 data monitors/collectors through our existing community protest groups and hold the monitors as a community asset. My role would be free and flexible. If every resident donates 20p-£1 (or whatever they can afford) , it will both pay for the monitors and promote a real sense of collective empowerment.

Our understanding is the safe limit for H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) is 10ppm (parts per million) for a 10 minute exposure. It is highly toxic with 100ppm considered an immediate danger to life and health.

Monitoring needs to be every minute with every 24hrs to give a true picture of risk. They need to be calibrated, in multiple locations, and meet specific requirements regarding accuracy, chain of custody and technical competance.

There is no guarantee the monitors will corroborate our experience, or indeed influence Council, Regulator or Operator behaviour. However, evidence from other communities suggest datasets being a linchpin in enforcement.

The proposal is to work with established local protest groups like Action Against Jamieson Road Landfill and its lead administrator Jess Brown to recruit 4 volunteers within 1 mile of the Landfill site. They will recieve initial training and work with me to compile the data. We will then report back to the community.

Lets put the power (the people and the data) back in our hands.