HC Deb 15 June 1992 vol 209 cc401-2W
Mr. Raynsford

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, pursuant to his answer of 9 June,Official Report, column 189, what steps are being taken by his Department to implement the recommendations of the report by Warren Spring Laboratory on nitrogen dioxide levels in the United Kingdom, and specifically the recommendations for more detailed monitoring using diffusion tubes and chemiluminescent monitors in London where the heaviest concentrations of nitrogen dioxide were found.

Mr. Maclean

My Department will be arranging, through Warren Spring Laboratory and with the help of the local authorities concerned, to continue national nitrogen dioxide monitoring with diffusion tubes on a permanent basis, and to enhance the level of detail in London and some other urban areas.

Chemiluminescent monitoring is a much more expensive technique and is therefore less well suited to examining the patterns of nitrogen dioxide distribution within cities. Some expansion of nitrogen dioxide monitoring using this technique is none-the-less already planned and will be taken forward with the benefit of advice from the air quality of urban air review group, taking account of the report's recommendations.

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