§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action he is proposing to take to reduce levels of(a) vanadium and (b) nickel in the atmosphere to below the guidelines set by the World Health Organisation. [14681]
§ Mr. AtkinsI refer the hon. Member to my pursuant reply of Friday 17 March 1995,Official Report, column 732.
Levels of vanadium and nickel measured in urban and rural areas in the United Kingdom on behalf of the 59W Department of the Environment have not approached or exceeded guidelines set by the World Health Organisation.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the ambient level of(a) vanadium and (b) nickel in (i) rural and (ii) urban areas in England expressed in nanograms per cubic metre at ground level. [14700]
Mr. AitkinsAnnual average concentrations of vanadium and nickel expressed in nanograms per cubic metre—ng/m3—measured by the Department of the Environment monitoring stations in England and Wales are presented in the table.
Site Date Level (ng/m3) vanadium Level (ng/m3) nickel Urban Sites1 Annual average Central London 1991–1992 15 5 Brent 1991–1992 — 12 Leeds 1991–1992 — 15 Motherwell 1991–1992 — 9 Glasgow 1991–1992 — 9 Rural sites2 10-year average — — Chilton, Oxon 1982–1991 6.1 3.3 Styrrup, Notts 1982–1991 8.1 5.6 Wraymires, Cumbria 1982–1991 3.3 2.6 Source:
1Digest of Environmental Protection and Water Statistics. HMSO No. 16, 1994.
2Cawse P.A., Baker S. and Law, D.V. (1994) A Survey of atmospheric trace elements in Great Britain, 1972–1991. AEA/CS/18358008/REMA-039. AEA Technology, Culham, Oxon.
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the current EU health guidelines for the level of(a) vanadium (b) nickel, (c) particles, (d) sulphur dioxide and (e) nitrogen dioxide expressed in nanograms per cubic metre, per day and annual average atmospheric concentrations. [14701]
§ Mr. AtkinsAir quality limit and guide values for concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particulates, and a limit value for concentrations of lead, are specified, in terms of microgrammes per cubic metre, in European Council directives 85/203/EEC, 80/779/EEC and 82/884/EEC respectively. The table shows the values in microgrammes per cubic metre. These can be converted into nanograms per cubic metre by multiplying by 1000. The limit value for sulphur dioxide is dependant on the level of suspended particulates measured over the same period:
60W
ug/m3 Nitrogen dioxide limit value 98 per cent. of hourly means 200 guide value 98 per cent. of hourly means 135 guide value 50 per cent. of hourly means 50 Lead limit value—annual average 2
Reference Period Limit value for SO2 Associated value for suspended particulates1 Sulphur dioxide—limit values Year. 80 >40 Median of daily values. 120 ≤40 Winter (1 October to 31 March). 130 >60 Median of daily values. 180 ≤60 Year (made up of units measuring periods of 24 hours). 250 >150 98 per cent, of daily values. 350 ≤150 1 Measured by the gravimetric method.
Reference period Guide value for SO2 Sulphur dioxide-guide values Year. Mean of daily values. 40 to 60 24 hours. Daily mean value. 100 to 150
§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the ambient level of(a) vanadium and (b) nickel in (i) rural and (ii) urban areas of Wales. [14698]
§ Mr. AtkinsNo measurements are currently made of vanadium and nickel in air by the Department of the Environment in urban or rural areas in Wales, but the annual average levels of vanadium and nickel at a rural site in Wales in 1979 are presented in the table.
Site Date Level (ng/m3) vanadium Level (ng/m3) nickel Rural site1 Trebanos, West Glamorgan Average 1979 7.3 46 Source:
1 Cawse P A (1981) A survey of atmospheric trace elements in the UK. AERE-R 9886. Environmental and Medical Sciences Division, AERE Harwell, Oxon.