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| Latest Air Quality News Click here to subscribe to the monthly latest news and website update. |
| New Air Quality Website for Northern Ireland
Date:12/07/2006 A new public air quality website funded by the Northern Ireland Department of Environment has gone live at www.airqualityni.co.uk. In launching the website last week, the Northern Ireland Office welcomed the establishment of the website; this will be a primary source of air pollution information for Northern Ireland’s district councils, government departments, consultants, academics and the general public. Like the UK Archive, the new website will provide comprehensive on-line access to air quality data and forecasts; however, it also offers special regional content and functionalities. For instance, it will provide access to up-to-date air quality measurements from many local monitoring sites that are not currently accessible from the UK Archive. For more on the website, please see www.nics.gov.uk/press/env/060706e-env.htm. This new site joins the growing family of interactive and user-friendly air quality websites developed for Defra and the Devolved Administrations. A comprehensive website has already been produced for the Welsh Assembly at www.welshairquality.co.uk. Like the Northern Ireland site, it offers access to local data not included in the UK Archive. A similar web-based air quality information resource is currently under development for the Scottish Executive. Consultation on a pilot site is being sought this autumn. This comprehensive family of websites will provide a unique resource for accessing national, regional and local-scale information on the quality of the air we all breathe. UK Particulate Monitoring Equipment Study Published Date:13/06/2006 A study of the equipment used across the UK to monitor particulate matter in the air has been published today by Defra and the Devolved Administrations. It examines whether the methods currently in use are 'equivalent' to the EU standard ‘reference' method. The aim of 'equivalence testing' is to ensure that the data produced by any EU Member State can be interpreted alongside the data produced by other countries, to achieve a meaningful comparison of air quality across Europe. The report published today is one of the first to be completed, and one of the most extensive studies undertaken to date. It has been reviewed by independent experts before publication. For details of the findings please see the Defra News Release or download the full report here(pdf). NEW - Local Authority Air Quality Support Website Date:17/05/2006 The Local Authority Air Quality Support Helpdesk has a NEW website at http://www.laqmsupport.org.uk. This new site, provided on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations, provides Local Authorities with access to advice and information on air quality monitoring, air quality modelling, and emissions inventories. The website contains the following useful features:
Buncefield Air Quality Findings Published Date:09/05/2006 It is unlikely that pollutants emitted after the Buncefield Oil Depot explosion of December 2005 had widespread impacts on air quality at ground level, a report published today (9 May) has confirmed. The ‘ Interim Review of Air Quality Aspects of the Buncefield Oil Depot Explosion’ - authored for Defra by consultants Netcen, the Met Office and the Health Protection Agency - summarises the wide range of air pollution monitoring during and after the fires at the Hertfordshire depot, and assesses the impacts of the incident on air quality. The report concludes that the high plume buoyancy and favourable meteorological conditions resulted in emissions being trapped aloft, with minimal transport to ground level. As a result, there was no widespread public exposure to the plume. For a full copy of this report, please visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/buncefield/index.htm Reports from the Buncefield Investigation Board and the Health Protection Agency have also been published on 9 May. For more information visit www.buncefieldinvestigation.gov.uk and www.hpa.org.uk Air Quality Indicators for Sustainable Development 2005 Date:24/04/2006 The final figures for 2005 were recently published in a Defra Statistical Release. Annual average urban background particulate (PM10) levels remained unchanged at 22 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg m-3) from 2004 to 2005, generally showing a decreasing trend from 36 µg m-3 in 1993. Rural ozone levels (measured as the daily maximum 8-hour running mean) averaged 70 µg m-3 in 2005 compared to 73 µg m-3 in 2004 and 68 µg m-3 in 1993. There is no clear long term trend. Urban background ozone levels were 57 µg m-3 in 2005, the same as in 2004 and have generally increased from 42 µg m-3 since 1993. In urban areas in 2005, air pollution was recorded as moderate or higher on 22 days on average per site, compared with 23 days in 2004, 50 days in 2003, and 59 days in 1993, reflecting a general decline in urban pollution. In rural areas, air pollution in 2005 was moderate or higher for 40 days on average per site, compared with 44 in 2004, and 64 in 2003. The number of days has fluctuated between 21 days in 1987 and the 2003 figure of 64 days, showing little overall trend. Further information on the Air Quality Indicators is available at here . Air Quality Strategy Review for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Date:05/04/2006 UK Government and the devolved administrations are consulting on a review of the current Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Deadline for comments is Tuesday 11 July. There are a series of key questions which they are seeking stakeholders' views upon at the beginning of Volume 1. Volume 1 seeks stakeholders' views on a number of potential additional national policy measures which, if implemented, could secure further improvement in air quality and move us closer to achieving the Strategy's air quality objectives. Volume 2 includes Technical Annexes and a Regulatory Impact Assessment which set out the scientific and economic underpinning for the assessments carried out. Air Quality Strategy Review Consultation Page Air Quality Strategy Review - Supporting Documents Update to the Air Quality Archive Date:10/02/2006 Defra and the Devolved Administrations have commissioned an update to the Air Quality Archive site, which will provide: 1.Increased user-friendliness and visual appeal 2.Improved navigation 3.Clearer linking throughout the site 4.Continued compliance with e-government web guidelines 5.More integrated and unified user interface 6.More up-to-date design 7.More economical and efficient usage of space There are no changes planned at this stage for the functionality of the Data and Statistics section of the site. Further news on the launch of the improved site will be posted here when available. Update of TG(03) Date:20/01/2006 A partial update of the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) Technical Guidance (TG(03)) was published in December 2005. This coincides with the third round of Review and Assessment which commences with the submission of the Updating and Screening Assessments in April 2006. It is not intended to re-publish LAQM.TG(03) in its entirety. The revisions and updates are provided as a series of FAQs, supported where necessary by new LAQM Tools. Updated guidance has been prepared to cover the following issues:
Following initial publication, the background maps were revised. If you downloaded these prior to 12 Jan 2006, please download the revised data here. |
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