HC Deb 15 November 1989 vol 160 cc245-6W
Ms. Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment at how many sites in London are pollutant levels of air monitored; for each of the last five years, on how may days air at each of these sites failed to meet the World Health Organisation safety level for(a) carbon monoxide; (b) nitrogen oxides and (c) ozone.

Mr. Trippier

The Warren Spring laboratory monitors air pollution in London for my Department. The number of sites and their results are summarised as follows:

Pollutant Number of sites
Lead 3
148
Black smoke/sulphur dioxide 224
Nitrogen dioxide 3
Carbon monoxide 2
Ozone 1
1 1984–85.
2 1988–89.

The World Health Organisation has published guideline values (not safety levels), which were exceeded on the numbers of occasions shown as follows:

(a) Carbon monoxide
1 hour guideline (25 ppm) 8 hour guideline (10 ppm)
11985–86 none none
1986–87 none none
1987–88 none none
1988–89 none 1 at site 1
21989 none 1 at site 2
(b) Nitrogen dioxide
1 hour guideline (210 ppb) 24 hour guideline (80 ppb)
31985 3 at site 2 10 at site 2
31986 none 2 at site 1
11 at site 2
41987 1 at site 1 6 at site 1
1 at site 3 4 at site 2
1 hour guideline (210 ppb) 24 hour guideline (80 ppb)
5 at site 1
41988 none 7 at site 3
3 at site 1
21989 1 at site 2 9 at site 2
6 at site 3
(c) Ozone
1 hour guideline (76 ppb) 24 hour guideline (50 ppb)
1985 14 35
1986 6 12
1987 0 5
1988 1 1
21989 6 17
1 Year April to March.
2 Results to 13 November 1989.
3 No measurements made at site 3.
4 No measurements made at site 2.

1999. Ms. Abbott

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the estimated total daily weight of carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants emitted by road traffic in Greater London on a typical Friday in(a) 1984, (b) 1989, (c) 1994, and (d)

Mr. Trippier

Warren Spring laboratory has provided the following estimates assuming the London annual total emission from road transport to be 7.55 per cent. of the United Kingdom total, and assuming Friday emissions to be 0.288 per cent. of the annual total.

Typical 1984 Friday emissions; NOx, 200 tonnes; CO, 838 tonnes.

Corresponding data are not yet available for 1989. The Department is currently revising its projections of future vehicle emissions in the light of the recent EC agreement on tighter emission standards and other developments, and I regret that the information sought for 1994 and 1999 is therefore also not at present available.