The People Project

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The PEOPLE project is a study into how people are exposed to the cancer-causing agent benzene, which is commonly found in both indoor and outdoor air. The main sources include petrol fumes, and it is also one of the many toxic chemicals associated with tobacco smoke.

The project will run in Dublin on the 28th April 2004, and is being carried out by the Dublin Institute of Technology and Dublin City Council, with support from the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Dublin City Council involvement in this project s is one element of its commitment to the Green Dublin Initiative.

How can you get involved?
We need the people of Dublin to help us by volunteering to wear a monitoring badge on the PEOPLE project day on the 28th April 2004.
You can volunteer by:
• Telephoning 4024717 and answering a confidential questionnaire;
• or ring us and we will post the questionnaire to you;
• or you can download the questionnaire from the page linked below and fill it in and return it;
• or pick up a questionnaire at your local Dublin City Council Library.

If selected we will ask you to wear a monitoring badge. We will deliver the badge to you, show you how it has to be worn, and arrange for its collection afterwards.Ongoing monitoring in outdoor air by Dublin City Council shows that levels of benzene are within the European Union's safety limits. The PEOPLE project will raise public awareness of the importance that personal choice and behaviour can have on a person's exposure to benzene.

For more information please see

http://physics.dit.ie/people.html

Thanks a mill
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GuanYin

I'd love to take part, I'm just afraid of what the badge might say after a day in my lab....and even more worried I might find out!

bug

I'd love to take part, I'm just afraid of what the badge might say after a day in my lab....and even more worried I might find out!

I promise i wont tell you the results

At the moment we have a load of lecturers who have submitted the return survey, so Im looking for housewives, maybe a few in research, a broader spectrum of participants, I thought boards would be a good place to promote it.

dudara

That does sound really interesting, except for the fact that I'm in Cork. Good luck with it, and let us know how you get on.

GuanYin

You're famous bug!

article

[edit] Its a free article so I can paste and attribute[/edit]

From the Irish Indo: (link above)

Hundreds to help in air pollution test

HUNDREDS of volunteers will wear special air pollution monitoring badges in the capital next month as part of a citywide experiment.

The trial aims to measure the level to which people in Dublin are exposed to the carcinogen benzene.

The highly-toxic chemical is found in petrol fumes and tobacco smoke.

The test is being conducted by Dublin Institute of Technology in association with the EU and Dublin City Council.

Martin Fitzpatrick, the council's principal environmental health officer, said yesterday an estimated 3,000,000 deaths occurred worldwide each year from the effects of air pollution, half of which could be traced to vehicle emissions.

The volunteers will wear special badges for 12 hours on April 28 next and the results will reveal the extent of pollution, both indoors and outdoors.

The range of volunteers selected will include smokers, non-smokers, public transport commuters, car drivers and cyclists.

The project has already been successfully completed in other major European cities including Brussels, Lisbon, Bucharest, and Madrid.

The council said ongoing monitoring it carries out into air pollution reveals that levels of benzene in the city are within the EU's safety limit.

Those wishing to take part must fill out a questionnaire which can be completed online at http://physics.dit.ie/people.html or ordered by calling (01) 4024717.

Treacy Hogan
Environment Correspondent

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can you copy and paste and PM syke the login isnt working

taby

I'd be interested in taking part. I'm a scince student tho but i do walk past drumcondra every day and it'd be nice to know how badly i'm being polluted...
are u still taking on volunteers???

:-)

bug

Yep we are still taking volunteers, all you have to do is visit the url in my post above download the file as a word document fill out the questionaire and return it via e-mail, then if you are selected for the survey we will contact you before April the 28th to arrange to send the badge out to you. If its not convienient you can just ring 01-4024717 and answer the questionaire over the phone.

Thanks,
bug

is it dublin only?

bug

well yes, dublin and co. Dublin, but if you work in Dublin and commute from Meath for example thats ok too

Lenny

Just wondering what size this thing is?
I don't want to be wearing a yoke stickin on me jacket an shirt like a tit...
can it be put in a pocked.. or is there no point then?

I do a fair bit of traveling on a bus, and work underground in a secure area, I'#m sure very little clean oxyigen gets in down to me!

bug

yeah good point I'll find out what they look like, think its about the same size as a normal badge like you'd get on a card. No point in putting it in your pocket though, the only thing it'd pick up is fluff I imagine ..it has to be exposed to the same surroundings as you are. I'll get back to ye on it

Lenny

any joy on it yet?

bug

ok the badge is a little green triangle 3inch X 3inch, which clips on to your pocket, there is a little yellow tube that protrudes out of it vertically, so you'll look more like a scientist than a twat. (depending on if you differentiate between the two), anyhow as far as I know Pat Kenny, and some other ahem, celebrities, will be wearing one too on the day to make you all feel good about yourselves

taby

Wow sounds like you're getting quite a lot of interest in this.

Good luck! :-)