Gardening equipment including lawnmowers add to air pollution levels in Ireland.
Off-road vehicles and other machinery including tractors, forklifts, and gardening equipment such as lawnmowers are adding significantly to air pollution levels in Ireland, according to research.
A study commissioned by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that what is known as non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) can be major pollutants through emissions, which can pose a danger to human health.
They include particulate matter (dust and smoke), carbon dioxide, black carbon, nitrogen oxides, and methane.
In what is believed to be the first study of its type to calculate the extent of pollution caused by NRMM, researchers from Technological University Dublin (TUD) and NUI Galway estimated that such vehicles contributed 1.6m tonnes of CO₂ emissions in 2019.
They also estimated that NRMM generated 17,424 tonnes of nitrogen oxides, 980 tonnes of particulate matter, 573 tonnes of black carbon, and 44 tonnes of methane in the same year.
NRMM includes a range of vehicles with or without wheels that have a combustion engine and are not intended for carrying passengers or goods by road.
They range from large-scale machines used in the construction sector to smaller hand-held machines used in private gardens.
Among vehicles considered in the NRMM category are harvesters, all-terrain vehicles, bulldozers, locomotives, railcars, inland waterway vessels, excavators, generators as well as lawnmowers, chain-saws and hedge trimmers.
The report said a comparison between national level data and “bottom-up” data it had received from owners of NRMM revealed a discrepancy between emission levels.
Researchers had obtained data first-hand from the owners of NRMM including DAA, Iarnród Éireann, local authorities, Teagasc, and Coillte.
However, information provided by the construction and mining sectors as well as airlines was limited with many companies claiming such information was commercially sensitive.
Lead researcher on the project, Dr Eoin McGillicuddy of TUD, said the number and types of these machines in use and their impact on emission levels was not fully understood in Ireland to at present.
The study said the amount of fuel used by NRMM in the Republic was also unknown.
Dr McGillicuddy acknowledged there were large gaps in the data made available for the project.
As a result, he said any emissions calculations were “indicative rather than fully accurate”.
EU regulations have set emission limits for gaseous and particulate pollutants for engines from NRMM since January 2017.
Dr McGillicuddy pointed out that previous emissions studies had largely focused on on-road vehicles as it was assumed that emissions from non-road vehicles were less significant.
However, he noted one international study from 2020 which suggested that NRMM will eventually surpass on-road vehicles as the leading source of mobile pollution.
Dr McGillicuddy said the lack of uniformity of NRMM and the fact they are used in many and varied sectors had made it difficult to assess the number of such vehicles and their contribution to overall emissions.
Although Ireland is obliged to provide detailed information on pollutants associated with air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, Dr McGillicuddy said it does not provide a separate category for NRMM.
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