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Air Quality
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether her Department's latest modelling shows that the objectives of the 1997 National Air Quality Strategy will be achieved for each of the eight pollutants named in the strategy under current policies. [65541]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 1 July 2002]: Our latest modelling suggests that, for five out of the eight named pollutants (carbon monoxide, lead, benzene, 1,3 butadiene, and sulphur dioxide), we are broadly on track to meet the objectives set out in the 1997 National Air Quality Strategy. In respect of three pollutants, however, (particles, ozone and nitrogen dioxide) there are some parts of the country which are at risk of exceeding the objectives originally proposed in the 1997 strategy.
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Many of the objectives of the 1997 National Air Quality Strategy have been tightened or amended in recent years, in the light of on-going policy and scientific developments. Details of our latest objectives together with modelled forecasts for each pollutant, are set out in the January 2000 Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and also in the September 2001 consultation document on proposed new air quality objectives for particles, carbon monoxide, benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). These documents are both available via the DEFRA website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/ index.htm.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the recommended standard is for each of the eight pollutants named in the National Air Quality Strategy; and whether the standards for each pollutant were breached in (a) the UK and (b) London in the last recorded year of monitoring. [65542]
Mr. Meacher [holding answer 1 July 2002]: The standards for each of the eight pollutants in the Air Quality Strategy are given in Table 1a. The strategy is advised by the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS), which recommends health based ambient air quality standards on which objectives will generally be based. Standards represent the concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere which can broadly be taken to achieve a certain level of environmental quality. They are based on assessment of the effects of each pollutant on human health including the effects on sensitive subgroups. The Air Quality Strategy also incorporates objectives which are policy targets generally expressed as a maximum ambient concentration to be achieved, taking account of the costs and benefits, and the feasibility and practicability of moving towards the standards. These are given in Table 1b.
| Pollutant | Concentration | Standard measured as |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide | 200 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | 1 hour mean |
| 40 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | Annual mean | |
| Sulphur dioxide | 266 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | 15 minute mean |
| 350 micrograms per metre cubed | 1 hour mean | |
| 125 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | 24 hour mean | |
| Particulate matter (PM 1 0 ) | 50 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | 24 hour mean |
| 40 micrograms per cubic metre(30) | Annual mean | |
| Ozone | 100 micrograms per cubic metre(30) | Running 8 hour mean |
| Carbon monoxide | 11.6 milligrams per metre cubed(30) | Running 8 hour mean |
| Benzene | 16.25 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | Running annual mean |
| 1,3-butadiene | 2.25 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | Running annual mean |
| Lead | 0.5 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | Annual mean |
| 0.25 micrograms per metre cubed(30) | Annual mean |
(30) The objective for ozone is not in regulations for the purposes of local air quality management due to the transboundary nature of this pollutant.
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There are 122 automatic air quality monitoring sites in the UK national monitoring networks and of these 24 are in London. All data are reported in the National Air
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Quality Archive (www.airquality.co.uk). The number of sites in the UK and in London which breached each of the standards and objectives are given in Table 2.
| Number of automatic sites exceeding Air Quality Strategy standard in 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollutant | Air Quality Strategy standards | UK(32) | London |
| Nitrogen dioxide | Hourly mean, 200 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 22 | 5 |
| Annual mean, 40 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 32 automatic and 251 non-automatic sites | 18 automatic and 24 non-automatic sites | |
| Sulphur dioxide | 15 minute mean, 266 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 17 | 2 |
| 1 hour mean, 350 micrograms per metre cubed | 2 | 0 | |
| 24 hour mean, 125 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 1 automatic and 8 non-automatic sites | 0 automatic and 0 non-automatic sites | |
| Particulate matter (PM 1 0 ) | 24 hour mean, 50 micrograms per cubic metre(31) | 47 | 12 |
| Annual mean, 40 micrograms per metre cubed | 1 | 1 | |
| Ozone | Running 8 hour mean, 100 micrograms per cubic metre(31) | 69 | 12 |
| Carbon monoxide | Running 8 hour mean, 11.6 milligrams per metre cubed(31) | 0 | 0 |
| Benzene | Running annual mean, 16.25 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 0 | 0 |
| 1,3-butadiene | Running annual mean, 2.25 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 0 | 0 |
| Lead | Annual mean, 0.5 micrograms per metre cubed(31) | 0 | 0 |
| Annual mean, 0.25 micrograms per metre cubed | 0 | 0 | |
| Number of automatic sites exceeding Air Quality Strategy objective in 2001 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pollutant | Air Quality Strategy objectives | UK(32) | London |
| Nitrogen dioxide | Hourly mean, 200 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded more than 18 time per year | 4 | 1 |
| Annual mean, 40 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 32 automatic and 251 non-automatic sites | 18 automatic and 24 non-automatic sites | |
| Sulphur dioxide | 15 minute mean, 266 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded more than 35 times per year | 1 | 0 |
| 1 hour mean, 350 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded more than 24 times per year | 0 | 0 | |
| 24 hour mean, 125 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded more than three times per year | 1 automatic and 4 non-automatic sites | 0 automatic and 0 non-automatic sites | |
| Particulate matter (PM 1 0 ) | 24 hour mean, 50 micrograms per cubic metre not to be exceeded more than 35 times per year | 6 | 1 |
| Annual mean, 40 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 1 | 1 | |
| Ozone | Running 8 hour mean, 100 micrograms per cubic metre not to be exceeded more than 10 times per year | 36 | 7 |
| Carbon monoxide | Running 8 hour mean, 11.6 milligrams per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 0 | 0 |
| Benzene | Running annual mean, 16.25 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 0 | 0 |
| 1,3-butadiene | Running annual mean, 2.25 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 0 | 0 |
| Lead | Annual mean, 0.5 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 0 | 0 |
| Annual mean, 0.25 micrograms per metre cubed not to be exceeded | 0 | 0 | |
(31) The objective for ozone is not in regulations for the purposes of local air quality management due to the transboundary nature of this pollutant.
(32) Total number of sites in the UK exceeding the standard (ie London plus rest of UK)
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