Farm emissions part of Derry pollution issue

SDLP MLA Sinéad McLaughlin said approximately 94 per cent of ammonia production come from agriculture. The gas, a product of slurry and fertilisers used in farming, is reacting with other chemicals in the atmosphere and producing particulate matter (PM 2.5) that can be harmful to human health, she said.

“Since it is a major issue in my constituency of Foyle, I would like to focus on the key role that ammonia plays in the formation of PM 2·5. By speeding up atmospheric reactions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, ammonia leads to larger concentrations of those very damaging, minute particles.

“Prolonged exposure is associated with increased mortality from lung and heart disease and is also linked to conditions such as dementia.

“It is therefore hugely concerning that Derry has been identified by the World Health Organization as exceeding safe levels of PM2.5. Across NI as a whole, research by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) projects that poor air quality leads to 500 premature deaths each year,” she said.

The Foyle MLA said millions could be saved on healthcare costs if actions were taken to reduce air pollution and added that a balance needed to be found between the protection of agriculture and the protection of human health.

“Prevention is better than cure, both for human and economic cost. We need action that supports air quality and agriculture, but I have to tell the Assembly that I have received representations arguing that agriculture policy has gone in the wrong direction: specifically, that the Going for Growth strategy has promoted farming methods that have caused increases in ammonia emissions. We need to listen to the science, just as we need to be led by the science when it comes to the COVID health crisis,” she argued.