§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at what level of ozone his Department issues health warnings. [1794]
§ Mr. ClappisonEC directive 92/72/EEC on air pollution by ozone sets a population information threshold of 180µg/m3 or 90ppb and a population warning threshold of 360µg/m3 or 180ppb. If either of these thresholds is exceeded, the directive requires member states to inform the public.
In the United Kingdom, my Department provides information on levels of ozone and other pollutants through the air quality helpline, the Internet, Ceefax, Teletext and the media. Ozone levels are described as "poor" when over the population information threshold, 556W and very poor when over the population warning threshold. In addition, my Department and the Department of Health issue occasional press notices.
Both the helpline and the press notices contain appropriate health advice when air quality is poor or very poor.
§ Mr. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the number of(a) rural and (b) urban areas covered by air monitoring stations; how his Department determines each; and if he will make a statement; [1808]
(2) what is (a) the number of air monitoring stations currently in operation, (b) the percentage of the country covered by air monitoring stations and (c) the percentage of the population covered by air monitoring stations; and if he will make a statement. [1810]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe Government have established a number of air quality monitoring networks to monitor air pollutants in rural and urban areas. The number of monitoring stations currently in operation in each of the national networks is shown in the table.
About three quarters of local authorities in the United Kingdom—based on 1993 boundaries—have at least one air quality monitoring site in their area. These sites are either wholly funded by the Government or run in collaboration with local authorities. Since the majority of monitoring is undertaken in urban areas a significant proportion of the population are covered by air quality monitoring.
The objectives of the Government's air quality monitoring programmes are to understand air quality problems in order that cost-effective policies and solutions can be developed; to monitor compliance with European Community directives; to assess how far guidelines and targets are being achieved; to provide public information on current and forecast air quality; and to assist the assessment of personal exposure to air pollutants. The Government establish air quality monitoring sites to meet these criteria, drawing on advice from their expert review groups.
Further details of the Government's monitoring programme are given in "Air Pollution in the UK: 1993–94", a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
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Network and Pollutants measured Urban stations Rural stations Total Automatic Urban1 (sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide and monoxide and fine particles (PM10)) 27 — 27 Automatic Hydrocarbon (25 hydrocarbons including benzene and 1,3-butadiene) 11 — 11 Automatic Rural1 (ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide) 0 15 15 Non-Automatic Urban Nitrogen Dioxide 1,216 — 1,216 Non-Automatic Urban Smoke and sulphur dioxide 227 — 227
Network and Pollutants measured Urban stations Rural stations Total Non-Automatic Lead and Multi-Element 20 4 24 Acid Deposition — 32 32 Rural sulphur dioxide — 39 39 Toxic Organic Micropollutants (dioxins and polyaromatic hydrocarbons) 3 1 4 North Sea (organochlorines and metals) — 4 4 Total 1,504 95 1,599 1 Not all sites monitor all pollutants.
§ Mr. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what comparisons his Department has carried out of the levels of(a) ozone, (b) nitrogen dioxide and (c) sulphur dioxide in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe. [1806]
§ Mr. ClappisonMy Department does not compile statistics of the measured concentrations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide or sulphur dioxide in countries outside of the United Kingdom. A summary of all UK monitoring data for these pollutants is presented in the Department of the Environment, "Digest of Environmental Statistics No. 17, 1995", a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the latest available figures for carbon dioxide emissions for each member state of the EU and the EEA, together with the equivalent figures for 1990; and if he will indicate the targets which have been agreed internationally for reducing them. [1792]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe framework convention on climate change, which the UK ratified in December 1993, commits developed countries to adopt policies and take corresponding measures aimed at returning anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to their 1990 levels by the year 2000. The UK is on target to meet this commitment.
The table gives figures for carbon dioxide emissions by EU member states and EEA countries in 1990 and 1993, based on data published by the International Energy Agency.
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Carbon dioxide emissions, 1990–1993 Country 1990 CO2 emissions (MtC) 1993 CO2 emissions (MtC) (EU) Austria 15.9 15.5 Belgium 30.3 30.9 Denmark 14.4 16.1 Finland 14.5 15.0 France 101.9 100.4 Germany 269.2 244.5 Greece 19.8 20.3 Ireland 9.1 9.1 Italy 112.4 111.9 Luxembourg 2.9 3.1 Netherlands 43.4 46.6 Portugal 11.2 12.5 Spain 59.7 60.8 Sweden 14.6 14.1 United Kingdom 159.2 152.3
Carbon dioxide emissions, 1990–1993 Country 1990 CO2 emissions (MtC) 1993 CO2 emissions (MtC) (EEA) Norway 8.4 8.6 Iceland 0.7 0.6 Liechtenstein 1— 1— 1 Figures not included in relevant IEA data. Figures converted from IEA for energy-related CO2 emissions. 1990 figures: Climate Change Policy Initiatives—1994 Update: Volume I—OECD Countries. 1993 figures: Energy Policies of IEA Countries—1994 Review
§ Mr. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment which of the air pollution sites referred to on his answer of 31 October 1995,Official Report, column 177–78, are classified as (a) urban and (b) rural. [1803]
§ Mr. ClappisonI refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him on 31 October. Column 3 of the table states whether the sites are rural or urban. All of the sites marked hydrocarbon are classified as urban.
§ Mr. TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list, for each of the last 10 years, the areas in which EC guidelines on levels of nitrogen dioxide have been exceeded. [1793]
§ Mr. ClappisonEC directive 85/203/EEC on air quality standards for nitrogen dioxide sets a mandatory limit value and two non-mandatory guide values for nitrogen dioxide. The latter two are 135µg/m3 (70.6ppb) expressed as a 98th percentile, and 50µg/m3 (26.2ppb) expressed as a 50th percentile, both of hourly values over a year.
The table lists the sites of the national monitoring network and the years where either of these guide values has been exceeded.
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Year Site 1985 London Roadside London Victoria 1986 London Roadside London Victoria 1987 London Victoria London Earl's Court Stevenage Glasgow Manchester Walsall 1988 London Victoria London Earl's Court Glasgow 1989 London Roadside London Victoria London Earl's Court Walsall 1990 London Roadside London Victoria London Earl's Court Manchester 1991 London Roadside London Victoria London Earl's Court 1992 London Roadside London Victoria London Earl's Court London Bloomsbury Manchester
Year Site Sheffield Edinburgh 1993 London Roadside London Victoria London Earl's Court London Bloomsbury Sheffield Newcastle 1994 London Roadside London Victoria London Earls' Court London Bloomsbury Manchester Sheffield Edinburgh Leeds
§ Mr. Roy ThomasonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is taking to implement the recommendation of the Government's expert panel on air quality standards for a standard for ozone of 50ppb. [3125]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe Government's national air quality strategy, which we intend to publish within the next few months, will include objectives for particular air pollutants, including zone, and the steps which we will expect local authorities and others to take in order to meet them.
About half the ozone affecting the UK has its origins abroad. Therefore, the UK believes that the most sensible approach is to act internationally to reduce emissions of the precursors of ozone. The United Kingdom has already signed the United Nation economic commission for Europe protocol on the reduction of volatile organic compounds, and is currently preparing for the negotiation of a new agreement on the reduction of oxides of nitrogen.