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News Archive 2009
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| 27th November - IAQM accredits the EMAQ/MJAC course Essentials of PPC |
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| The Institute for Air Quality Management (IAQM) has accredited the EMAQ/MJAC course 'Essentials of PPC'. This means that the IAQM considers that the management and delivery of this course is of a sufficient standard that completion of the course, subject to successfully passing the course tests, constitutes training of a practitioner, who has satisfactory foundation knowledge of the PPC permits procedures expected of an IAQM professional. Successful completion of the course should be recognised as step in professional development in the field of air quality management. |
| 17th November - IAQM publishes Position Statement on Significance in Air Quality |
| Following discussion amongst the membership the Institute have prepared the following recommendations for assessing the significance of air quality impacts, which it hopes will guide and inform air quality professionals when undertaking air quality assessments. |
| 10th November - UK Non-Automatic Hydrocarbon Network: Annual Report for 2008 |
| The Automatic and Non Automatic Hydrocarbon Networks (established in 2002) exist within the framework of Defra's Air Quality and Industrial Pollution one of whose aims is to determine the magnitude of sources, exposure and effects of air pollutants on human health and the natural environment. This monitoring enables the development and implementation of strategies to reduce the impacts of air pollution, including compliance with national and EU legislation. The sites provide direct evaluations of compliance with benzene limit values and objectives. The Annual Report can be found here. |
| 10th November - QA/QC Procedures for the UK Automatic Urban & Rural Air Quality Monitoring Network (AURN) |
| The primary function of AURN is to provide data in compliance with EU Directives on Air Quality. It is essential that the data provided is of robust quality and thus it follows that the quality assurance and quality control procedures must be equally robust. This report outlines EU and UK data quality requirements and describes how these are addressed within the AURN. |
| 10th November - Air Quality Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland,Wales &Northern Ireland: 1990-2007 |
| Ths report presents emission inventories for seven priority air quality pollutants. |
| 4th November - Links between city walkability and air pollution exposure revealed |
| Researchers from the Universities of Minnesota and British Columbia have compared "walkability" (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and have concluded that neighbourhoods good for walking, may not be in areas where the air quality is good. This study used walkability criteria including intersection density, the ratio of parking to retail area and land use to to rate certain neighborhoods, the air quality was then studied independently. The study concluded that town planning could influence the walkability of an area and encourage higher daily activity levels thus improving general health. Designing high population areas with provision for walking, biking and public transport would also help to improve air quality issues, thus creating a "win -win" neighbourhood. |
| 4th November - National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) Stakeholder Day Presentations 2009 |
| The presentations from the recent Stakeholder day on 28th Septemberhave just been published, the presentations (all in pdf form) cover topics ranging from road transport projections to an overview of the energy model. |
| 21st October - EU set to miss 2010 air pollutant limits |
| On the 1st October the European Environment Agency published the annual information received from the 27 member states concerning the emissions and projections for four air pollutants. These air pollutants contribute to the formulation of particulate matter and ground level ozone and can be harmful to human health, ecosystems and vegetation. Of the 27 member states, only 14 expect to meet their targets ceilings for all four pollutants. Spain expects to miss three of the four emission ceilings and France, Germany and the Netherlands each expect to miss two. Reduced economic activity due to the recession may well make achieving the ceilings easier in future years, although obviously data to support this theory is not yet available. |
| 21st October - The Mayor's Draft Air Quality Strategy for London |
| The Mayor (of London) has published his draft air quality strategy "for consultation with the London Assembly, Stakeholders and Londoners." The strategy sets out a framework for delivering improvements to London's air quality and includes measures aimed at reducing emissions. The Mayor is inviting comments via the online consultation questionnaire or by post. For the link to the questionnaire and explanatory notes visit here. |
| 21st October - China's acid rain control strategy offset by increase air pollution |
| Vast areas of Chinese farmland has suffered acidification and reduced productivity because of acid rain. The cause of the rain is sulphur dioxide air pollution, much of which originates from power station chimneys. Government officials have ploughed a lot of energy into reducing these emissions (with a national goal of 10%) however it now looks likely that the gains from this programme could be offset by the increase in nitrogen emissions. Read the full report here. |
| 21st October - Arctic could potentially alter the earth's climate |
| In a new study in the journal of Ecological Monographs, ecologists estimate that the arctic lands and oceans are responsible for up to 25% of the global net sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon generally enters the oceans and land masses of the Arctic from the atmosphere and largely accumulates in the permafrost. Unlike active soils, permafrost does not decompose its carbon, thus it becomes trapped in the frozen soil. However recent warming trends could accelerate the rate of decomposition leading to the release of more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. |
| 5th October - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) Annual Report 2007 |
| Concentrations of PAH have been measured in a variety of locations for seventeen years, with the number of monitoring sites having increased significantly in that time, in locations that reflect both industrial and background levels. Epidemiological studies have shown a significant link exists between occupational exposure to PAH in workplace air and lung cancer. For that reason health based Air Quality Standards and Objectives have been established for PAH, in both the UK and EU. The contents of this report will assist in the compliance with EU directives relating to PAH in ambient air. |
| 5th October - Siting Assessment of Automatic Urban & Rural Network |
| A new air quality Directive (2008/50/EC) on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe was adopted in June 2008. The Directive defines siting criteria for monitoring sites, and this document is a review of current AURN sites against these requirements and identifies sites that are not compliant. |
| 5th October - Global increase in atmospheric methane is likely to have been caused by Arctic warmth |
| According to ScienceDaily (Sep 28 , 2009), unusually high temperatures in the Arctic and heavy rain in the tropics is likely to have caused a global increase in atmospheric methane in 2007 and 2008 after nearly a decade of zero growth. At least three factors are likely to have contributed to the increase according to Ed Dlugokency at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, the arctic warmth, tropical forest burning and increased rainfall in Indonesia and the Amazon. |
| 14th September - Well run, regulated waste incinerators pose no significant threat to public health |
| The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reviewed the latest scientific evidence on the health effects of modern incinerators and concluded that whilst adverse effects on health cannot be ruled out completely, any potential damage to health is likely to be so small as to be undetectable. A spokesman from the agency pointed out that particulate emissions from incinerators made up a fraction of 1% of the country's total emissions, whilst those from industry and traffic account for more than 50%. At a time when European Union Directives aim to minimise landfill, thus encouraging the use of incineration the research suggests that there will be no adverse health effects as a result. The Agency's general position has remained unchanged as a result of the research findings and their updated position statement can be read here. |
| 7th September - Revised PM10 Air Quality Index for Reference Equivalent Data |
| A finalised Renewable Energy Strategy was released in July alongside the Governments Low Carbon Transition White Paper. Key points include, a commitment to developing emissions performance standards for boilers under 20MWth and limiting payments to boilers that meet the new emissions performance standard (under the Renewable Heat Incentive). Read the full report and find out more about the renewable energy strategy at the EPUK website. |
| 7th September - Renewable Energy Strategy Launched |
| Over the past two years, old TEOM PN10 monitors have been steadily replaced with reference equivalent instruments both on the national monitoring networks and at regional and local levels. As the current PM10 air quality index is not directly transferable to the reference equivalent monitors it requires updating. The new equation relevant relating old TEOM data to the new monitors is available here. A short paper explaining the background and proposed changes is available at the same location. |
| 7th September - Assessment of Ozone in Europe |
| The European Environment Agency has published a report on the ground level ozone trends in Europe, looking at why levels remain largely unchanged in many countries, despite overall reductions of the air pollutants that lead to the formation of ozone. Read about the main findings here. |
| 8th August - UK Air Quality Forecasting - Operational Reports for 2008 |
The Operational Reports for the whole of 2008 are now available, these reports produced for Defra, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland are issued in quarterly chunks. |
| 8th August - Reports and Presentations from the UK Air Quality Forecasting Seminar on 16th July 2009 |
This the eighth National Air Quality Forecast Seminar took place at the Council House in Birmingham. The copies of the presentations made are now available from the UK Air Quality Archive. They include the latest poicy developments at Defra and a project update on UK air quality forecasting. |
| 9th July - Review of Bus Fleet Compositions & Implications for Emission Reduction Strategies |
This report written by Air Quality Consultants on behalf of Defra, sets out a review of bus fleet compositions across the UK. The primary airm of such a review is to determine how effective local authority emissions reduction strategies targeted at buses could be in achieving the air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide and PM 10. |
| 9th July - QA/QC Data ratification reports for the Automatic Urban & Rural Network |
These reports, cover the four automatic networks that gather air quality information across the UK. The information prepared for Defra is gathered using particular methods depending on the pollutant measured, the reason for setting up the network and the use of the end data. Reports currently available include: |
| 19th June - Launch of the Openair Project - University of Leeds |
This 3 year project, funded by the NERC with additional funding from Defra, AEA and several local authorities aims to make innovative, open source data analysis tools available for free to the air quality community. The tools should have wide appeal and are being made available using the open source statistical software called R. The project will be continuously developed over the next few years and user feedback is encouraged, to ensure that the tools are of maximum benefit to the community. The website provides full details of the project and a chance to test a pre release version of the openair package. |
| 19th June - Air Pollution from Shipping |
The Maritime and Coastguard agency has launched a consultation on the draft Merchant Shipping (Prevention of air pollution from ships) Regulations 2009. |
| 19th June - Emissions from Shipping |
The Environmental Audit Committee’s new report “Reducing CO2 and Other Emissions from Shipping” highlights the need to for urgent action to reduce emissions from shipping. The report concludes that emissions from shipping cannot be allowed to grow uncontrolled. Emissions from shipping need to be taken into account in the UK’s carbon budgets and the industry needs clear targets to help engineers operators and owners to come up with appropriate solutions. |
| 19th June - First “summer smog” warning of 2009 |
On the 1st June Defra released its first smog warning in response to warm sunny weather across England and Wales. Ironically the areas singled out as having high pollution levels (the rural parts of the East, South East and South Coast of England ) are remote from the areas of dense roadway which helped form them. The public were urged to take sensible precautions;
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| 17th June - IAQM Meeting on Model Verification (23 April 2009) |
| On Thursday 23 April 2009 the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) hosted a 'head to head' debate on model verification within the context of air quality management assessments. Speakers included (click on links to download presentations): • Duncan Laxen of Air Quality Consultants Ltd. – Importance of Model Verification and Adjustment • Michael Bull of Arup – Model Verification: The Case Against A report on the meeting is provided by Matt Ireland. As a result of the meeting, IAQM has developed four recommendations relating to model verification. |
| 17th June - UK Biomass Guidance - IAQM Response |
| Environmental Protection UK, in partnership with LACORS, has produced draft guidance for local authorities on the air quality impacts of biomass which was made available for consultation. IAQM’s responded to this consultation document and a copy of this response can be obtained here. |
| 15th June - Road Transport Emissions from Biofuel Consumption in the UK |
| In a report by AEA on behalf of Defra, the impacts of road transport increasingly consuming biofuels are discussed. By 2010 the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will require that 5% by volume of all UK fuels sold on forecourts will come from a renewable source. As there are several different types of biofuel products available, and any number of combinations and mixtures with conventional petrol and diesel fuels that can be created, emissions and impacts on air quality vary wildly. This report has reviewed the effects of different types of first generation biofuels on exhaust emissions. Read the full report here. |
| 15th June - Biomass Update |
On the EPUK site this month "Biomass - Policy Smoke Begins to Clear". It would seem that an official policy line on biomass and air quality has begun to emerge from Defra and DECC following the biomass impact assessment study commissioned by Defra. Lord Hunt (Minister at both departments) wrote in a letter that "where certain conditions are met.... impacts can be reduced to a manageable level", the letter then went on to detail four conditions;
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| 15th June - Beyond the Limits, from Assessment to Action - EPUK |
| Environmental Protection UK has published an update from its Spring Workshop on Air Quality and Climate Change held in Highgate House in April. This years keynote speaker was Lord Chris Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency. Topics covered included transport, a policy update from Robert Vaughn of Defra and clean air for London. Read the full critique of the day here. |
| 15th May - Every Breath You Take: London Assembly Environment Committee Paper |
| actions that the Mayor can take to improve air quality and thus the health of Londoners, it will feed into the Mayor's air quality strategy that is due for publication in summer 2009. The London Assembly Environment Committee is keen to see the Mayor's strategy for tackling air quality in a realistic time frame, especially with the 2012 Olympics approaching. Mindful of the air quality issues which affected the last two games in Beijing and Athens. Mayor Johnson's Air Quality Strategy is expected to focus on four policy areas: low emission vehicles, encouraging more walking and cycling, less congestion and other non transport issues such as energy efficiency in buildings. Read the full report here. |
| 31st March - Annual Report for 2008 on the UK Heavy Metals Monitoring Network |
| Under the EC Air Quality Directives, the UK has an obligation to monitor the mass concentrations of certain heavy metals in ambient air. These metallic elements occur naturally or are released by industrial or domestic processes, it is important to human health that these particle levels are monitored to ensure that their concentration complies with the limits imposed by European legislation. This report written by the NPL details the methodology for measurement, read the report here. |
| 21st January - Improving Air Quality Consulation |
| This report based on research carried out by the University of the West of England and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, takes the form of a ten point plan for Environmental Consultancies employed by Local Authorities to contribute air quality expertise to development projects*. The guidance provides information on how consultation typically takes place now and the role that Environmental Consultancies can play in making future consultations and contributions to EIAs more effective. *The Environment Act 1995 (part IV) placed an obligation on Local Authorities to consult with relevant statutory and non-statutory stakeholders as part of their Local Air Quality Management. The full report including the background and methodology of the research can be found here |
| 15th January - Heathrow Noise and Pollution Assumptions Fatally Flawed? |
| In a report published by Environment UK on their website earlier this month, the expansion of Heathrow airport and the assumptions made prior to its construction regarding air and noise pollution are called into question. Originally the Government gave assurances that the new runway would have been used by only the cleanest quietest aircraft and thus the noise footprint of the airport would remain at 2002 levels. However the current economic conditions make adhering to this standard very difficult, as sales of cleaner quieter aircraft (and cars) have slumped. Operating companies are using older and therefore less efficient aircraft and road vehicles for longer, challenging the Governments assumptions of future fleet mixes. Read the full article here. |
| 8th January 2009 - UK still not on course to meet nitrogen oxide emission limits |
| According to figures released by Defra, the UK looks unlikely to be able to comply with the European National Emission Ceilings Directive for nitrogen dioxide despite falls of 7% between years 2006 and 2007. The emission ceilings were agreed within Europe to curtail the effects of one country polluting a neighboring one, after the effects of sulphur dioxide emissions from the UK were shown to have caused acidification of rain falling on Scandinavia, causing damage to forests and lakes there. Levels of the four pollutants covered (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)and ammonia) have all dropped since the 1980's, however the levels nitrogen oxide remain a challenge to reduce, mainly because of the activities of power generation sites. Read the full article here |
Site designed by Alex Ledbrooke - Cornwall College Air Quality Unit 