§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will issue bulletins to the public on air quality when the threshold of 50 parts per billion of ozone is exceeded over an eight-hour period; and if he will make a statement. [27393]
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§ Mr. AtkinsUp-to-date information on ozone levels is available to the public at all times on the Government's freephone 0800 556677, on Cefax page 404, and on Teletext page 106. Reports and forecasts are sent twice daily to broadcast and print media.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has commissioned into the economic impact of air pollution on agriculture, forestry and materials. [27852]
§ Mr. AtkinsThe UK devotes of the order of £1.5 million to the determination of critical loads—maximum pollutant loading before the onset of damage—for various terrestrial ecosystems such as crops, vegetation and forests. Work has already been commissioned on the effects of acidifying pollutants on forests, soils and natural vegetation. The mapping of critical loads, and exceedances of them, across the UK allows the extent of environmental damage to be assessed, and the national materials exposure programme, which has been running continuously for the last eight years, has allowed determination of the rate of deterioration of various materials exposed to acidifying air pollutants. In addition, ozone damage to crop has been quantified as part of a programme of UK-led experiments within the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe's convention on the long-range transport of air pollutants. A new three-year research programme has also been commissioned in order to quantify the current and future effects and costs of damage to materials caused by ground-level ozone.
§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what advice he has received on the potential economic costs of damage to materials in the UK from tropospheric ozone. [27851]
§ Mr. AtkinsIn 1994, my Department commissioned a report to assess the potential economic costs of damage to materials by ozone. This scaled US estimates from the late 1960s, and provided a range of costs for the UK of £170 million—£345 million in current terms for damage to all stock at risk and antiozonant protection. I am pleased to announce that, following this report, I have commissioned a three-year research programme which will quantify the current and potential future extent and costs of damage to materials from atmospheric ozone.