§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 22 November 2001,Official Report, column 425W, on ozone levels, (1) if she will list the number of days per site in rural areas on which pollution levels were (a) at and (b) below national air quality standards in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998, (iv) 1999 and (v) 2000; [18832]
(2) if she will provide a breakdown of (a) the different measures of pollution and (b) their levels in rural areas in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998, (iv) 1999 and (v) 2000. [18833]
§ Mr. Meacher[holding answer 29 November 2001]: Levels of ozone are measured as part of the UK national urban and rural air pollution monitoring network. There
Table 1: Automatic rural network stations—29 November 2001 Name Location Pollutants measured Start date Wicken Fen Cambridgeshire O3, NOx, SO2 15 October 1997 Ladybower Derbyshire O3, NOx, SO2 15 July 1988 Yarner Wood Devon O3 26 June 1987 Lullington Heath East Sussex O3, NOx, SO2 4 October 1986 Rochester1 Rochester O3, NOx, SO2, PM10 26 January 1996 Weybourne Norfolk O3 20 May 2001 High Muffles North Yorkshire O3 16 July 1987 Harwell Oxfordshire O3, NOx, SO2 22 June 1976 Somerton1 South Somerset O3 26 January 1996 Sibton East Anglia O3 1 July 1973 Lough Navar Northern Ireland O3, PM10 2 April 1987 Eskdalemuir South Scotland O3 23 April 1986 Strath Vaich North Scotland O3 18 March 1987 Bush South Scotland O3 1 April 1986 Narberth1 Pembrokeshire O3, NOx, SO2, PM10 10 March 1997 Aston Hill Mid-Wales O3 26 June 1986 1 Affiliate site Notes:
Ozone —O3
Nitrogen dioxide —NO2
NO, Sulphur dioxide —SO2
PM10
676Ware currently 120 automatic monitoring sites within this network that also measure a range of other pollutants. The number and location of monitoring sites are predominantly determined by the reporting requirements as set out in the Air Quality Framework Directive and the Air Quality Daughter Directives. The UK has been divided into air pollution monitoring areas (zone or agglomerations) for the purposes of the First Air Quality Daughter Directive.
Sixteen national monitoring sites are located in rural or remote areas. These sites measure particulates (PM10), nitrogen dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, sulphur dioxide and ozone. However, not every site measures every pollutant. Table 1 lists the pollutants currently monitored at each rural monitoring station.
The independent Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) has developed recommendations on natural air quality standards. The standards are based on assessment of the health effects of each pollutant. When air pollution levels are above the standard mild effects, that are unlikely to require action, may start to be noticed by sensitive people. Table 2 lists the air quality standards.
Table 3 shows the number of days at rural sites on which levels of ozone were above the national standard of 100 μg/m3 measured as a running eight hour average mean. Ozone episodes are caused by a combination of sunlight reacting on volatile organic compounds and nitrogen dioxide. These pollutants can be transported long distances and a proportion of the ozone measured during these episodes is likely to have originated from continental sources.
Table 4 shows the number of days at rural sites on which levels of PM10 were above the national standard of 50 μg/m3 measured as a running 24 hour average mean.
Table 5 shows the number of days at rural sites on which levels of sulphur dioxide were above the national standard of 266 ¼g/m3 measured as a 15 minute mean.
The nitrogen dioxide standard (287 μg/m3 measured as a one hour mean) has not been exceeded at any rural site at which monitoring is undertaken.
677W
Table 2: Current UK air quality standards Pollutant Concentration Standard measured as Benzene 16.25 ng/m3 Running annual mean 1,3 butadiene 2.25 ug/m3 Running annual mean Carbon monoxide 11.6 ug/m3 Running 8 hour mean Lead 0.25 |ig/m3 Annual mean Nitrogen dioxide 287 u.g/m3 1 hour mean Ozone 100 ug/m3 Running 8 hour mean PM10 50 ug/m3 Running 24 hour mean Sulphur dioxide 266 u.g/m3 15 minute mean
Table 3: Days on which ozone levels were above the national standard at rural sites Site 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Aston Hill 24 24 11 22 20 Bush Estate 12 II 3 8 3 Eskdalemuir 10 17 6 17 6 Harwell 27 39 13 30 12 High Muffles 25 27 15 31 15 Ladybower 20 28 8 21 7 Lough Navar 6 5 3 6 7 Lullington Heath 40 54 27 49 28 Narberth — 27 12 27 — Rochester 28 42 20 38 18 Sibton 28 31 17 23 13 Somerton 40 38 23 34 26 Strath Vaich 11 12 10 26 10 Wicken Fen — — 11 31 10 Yarner Wood 28 21 20 34 14
Table 4: Days on which PMIO levels were above the national standard at rural sites Narberth Rochester 1996 — — 1997 0 6 1998 3 4 1999 0 1 2000 1 1
Table 5: Days on which sulphur dioxide levels were above the national standard at rural sites Site 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Harwell 2 — 5 2 4 Ladybower 6 1 7 0 0 Lullington Heath 0 0 0 0 — Narberth — 0 0 — 0 Rochester 18 6 3 2 1 Wicken Fen — — 0 0 0