§ Alan KeenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the volatile organic compounds level is(a) in the south east region of England and (b) in the vicinity of the main airports in the south east region of England. [107010]
§ Alun MichaelI have been asked to reply.
Volatile organic compounds are monitored at nine sites in the south east region of England. The annual mean data for benzene and 1,3-butadiene are given in tables 1 and 2. Further information for a wider range of other volatile organic compounds is available on the National Air Information Quality Archive (www.airquality.co.uk) for two of these sites.
Defra does not undertake any volatile organic compounds measurements at the main airports in the south east region of England. BAA has undertaken measurements of benzene and 1,3-butadiene at Gatwick and Heathrow. These indicated that concentrations of both pollutants are below the levels set in the Air Quality Strategy.
Table 1: Means of measured Benzene concentrations, in micrograms per metre cubed, (µg/m3) at UK hydrocarbon sites
Annual mean Monitoring Site 1999 2000 2001 2002 Harwell 1 0.88 0.53 0.62 0.60 Marylebone Road 2 10.75 6.29 4.55 3.91 Oxford Centre 3 n/a n/a n/a 41.40 Reading 5 n/a n/a n/a 61.43 Southampton Centre 5 n/a n/a n/a 1.63 Portsmouth 5 n/a n/a n/a 61.17 Hove roadside 3 n/a n/a n/a 41.66 London Bloomsbury 5 n/a n/a n/a 61.56 Haringey roadside 3 n/a n/a n/a 42.63 Notes:
1 Rural
2 Kerbside
3 Roadside
4 Site began in February 2002
5 Urban background
6 Site began in May 2002
Table 2: Means of measured 1,3-Butadiene concentrations in micrograms per metre cubed, (µg/m2) at UK automatic
hydrocarbon sites
Annual Mean Monitoring Site 1999 2000 2001 2002 Harwell 1 0.10 0.09 0.11 0.40 Marylebone Road 2 1.87 1.63 1.12 0.95 Notes:
1 Rural
2 Kerbside
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