We exhibited at this year’s Air Quality News National Air Quality Conference curious about where the industry is heading. Not just for monitoring technology, but for the bigger picture: what challenges is the UK Air Quality space actually facing, and what’s working in practice?

Here’s what we learned.

How are sites managing monitoring requirements in reality?

This was the big one for us, and Daniel Marsh from Imperial College London’s Centre for Low Emission Construction delivered some eye-opening research.

His team visited 12 construction sites to understand how dust monitoring works day-to-day. What did he find? There’s a significant gap between what planning conditions require and what’s actually achievable on the ground.

Power failures. Communication breakdowns with regulators. Alerts that don’t reach the right people. The hardware exists, but the support infrastructure often doesn’t.

Local authorities face resource constraints and may lack construction-specific expertise. Sites are under cost pressure. When monitoring becomes compliance paperwork rather than operational intelligence, it loses its value for everyone involved.

Worth noting: construction generates 27% of London’s PM10, 7% of PM2.5, and 4% of NOx. Getting this right matters. The challenge is building systems that work for the people using them, not just ticking regulatory boxes.

What does the latest health research tell us?

Dr. Abi Whitehouse from Queen Mary University presented findings on air pollution and respiratory health. Air pollution is the second leading risk factor for death in children under five, both globally and in the UK. PM2.5 levels are particularly high in areas like Tower Hamlets, yet awareness remains low.

Her research mapped how environmental triggers lead to asthma diagnosis, affecting medication needs, school attendance, family finances, and parental work capacity. Zooming out, none of this exists in isolation. Construction sites, roads, loading bays they sit next to schools, homes, and communities. The emissions affect neighbouring children.

Dr Whitehouse also discussed diesel exhaust which contains 10 times more black carbon than petrol. Workers regularly exposed face a 40% increased lung cancer risk. IOSH classifies it as carcinogenic.

Over 300,000 diesel machines operate across UK construction sites, using 2.5 million tonnes of diesel annually. That’s significant exposure for workers and significant emissions reaching communities.

What’s the realistic path to Net Zero for construction equipment?

Over 300,000 pieces of diesel machinery operate across UK construction sites. That’s substantial exposure for the people working on sites daily.

Diesel generators often run overnight. Excavators spend 40% of their time idling.

There are goals for zero emission NRMM by 2040, but the transition timeline? Still unclear. The technology exists, but deployment at scale takes time and investment.

The practical opportunity right now: monitor what’s actually happening so you can prioritise where to invest first. Which equipment generates the most emissions? Which activities matter most? Understanding the baseline helps target resources effectively.

What we’re taking away

The conversations throughout the day kept returning to a common theme: there’s an appetite for monitoring that provides genuine operational value, not just compliance documentation.

Real-time alerts that reach the right people. Visual evidence of what triggered pollution spikes. Data that helps sites operate more efficiently while protecting workers and communities.

This is what EMSOL is offering today. We believe monitoring works best when it makes life easier, not harder. When it provides clarity rather than administrative burden. When it helps sites demonstrate good environmental stewardship with evidence, not just paperwork.