News Headlines

The openair project

Date: 20/05/2009
The Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds is pleased to announce the launch of the openair project. The 3-year openair project is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with additional funding from Defra, AEA and several local authorities.

The project aims to make innovative, open-source data analysis tools available for free to the air quality community. These tools are designed for the analysis of air pollution data and dispersion model output. The underlying theme of the project is that considerably more useful information can be gleaned from air quality data using tools specifically designed for the purpose than is usually the case. As such, the tools should have wide appeal from central and local government, consultancies, regulators and university researchers. Many of these tools would normally require specialist visualisation or statistical software but have been made available in the highly developed open-source statistical software called R.

The website at http://www.openair-project.org provides more details on the project and a pre-release version of the openair “package” that users can test ahead of its final release in October 2011. The project will be continuously developed over the next few years and we are keen to receive user feedback to ensure the tools are of maximum benefit to the community.

AEA and ITS are working to apply these tools to AURN data presented on the AQ Archive. This will allow web users a greater range of functionality, visualisation and analysis when interrogating the national network measurements.

Contact: David Carslaw (d.c.carslaw@its.leeds.ac.uk)

The Welsh Assembly Government issues revised Technical and Policy guidance to local authorities on improving air quality

Date: 14/05/2009
The Welsh Assembly Government has issued revised guidance to all local authorities in Wales on managing air quality. Under Part IV of the Environment Act 1995, all Local Authorities have a duty to manage air quality. The guidance is intended to support authorities in their efforts to tackle poor air quality and to fulfil their statutory duties under the Act. The guidance should be taken into account by all local authority departments involved in local air quality management (LAQM), including environmental health, corporate services, planning, economic development and transport planning. The revised policy guidance document is accompanied by four new practice documents covering; assessment of air quality measures, implementing low emission zones and two documents on reducing emissions from vehicles. The revised policy guidance, issued to all local authorities in Wales and new technical guidance document, issued to all local authorities in the UK can be found at http://www.wales.gov.uk/topics/environmentcountryside/epq/airqualitypollution/laqmguidance/?lang=en

Updated tools for LAQM purposes can be found at www.airquality.co.uk/archive/laqm/tools.php

Update to the VCM web portal

Date: 06/05/2009
A small error in the model equation has been identified and was corrected on 28th April 2009. This error concerned the temperature and pressure correction applied to the reported TEOM concentrations. This resulted in an underestimation of the TEOMVCM concentration of approximately 4% at background locations; an analysis of the impact of this error on the 2007 AURN measurements can be seen here .

Concentrations calculated using the VCM before this date should therefore be recalculated. To help with this process the correction xls spreadsheets that have been generated using the VCM Web Portal have been regenerated and can be downloaded from www.volatile-correction-model.info/FinishedCorrections.aspx

Unfortunately, the details for all the corrections made are not available to us, specifically, if you made more than one correction in a visit to the web portal then only the last correction made will have been saved. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. This error affects the application of the VCM to TEOM measurements through the VCM web portal. It does not affect the underlying basis of the VCM and its proven equivalence to the EU reference method.

Defra submits UK application to the European Commission for an extension to meet PM10 air quality limits

Date: 24/04/2009
Defra has today (24 April 2009) submitted the UK's notification to the European Commission to secure additional time to meet the limit values for PM10 for eight UK zones/agglomerations in accordance with Council Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient air quality.

Under EU legislation, the UK is divided into zones and agglomerations (areas with populations of more than 250,000) and annual compliance reports are submitted on this basis. Levels of PM10 have been falling across the UK. However, in small parts of eight administrative areas, breaches of the PM10 limit values have been reported to the European Commission since they came into force in 2005 and so additional time to meet the required limits is needed.

The extension would enable current and planned measures to take effect to reduce PM10 levels to within the EU limits by the extended deadline of 2011. Of particular importance in delivering improvements are the EU vehicle emission standards and other traffic related measures, such as encouraging lower emission vehicles, and regional or local measures promoting greater use of public transport and smoother traffic flows. The commitment in this week's budget announcement to introduce measures to incentivise uptake of HGV's and buses that meet the latest EU vehicle emission standards will also deliver valuable improvements. The application follows a public consultation on the content of the UK's application for an extension that closed on 10 March. A summary of responses to that was published by Defra on 8 April.

The application comprises a series of detailed forms and a Technical Report, which are available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/eu-int/eu-directives/airqual-directives/notification.htm

The Commission has 9 months to assess the application.

Defra issues revised Technical and Policy guidance to local authorities on improving air quality

Date: 19/02/2009
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has today issued revised guidance to all local authorities on managing air quality. Local Authorities will find these documents helpful in assessing and implementing measures to improve air quality in their area. All Local Authorities have a duty to manage air quality under the Environment Act 1995. The revised technical and policy guidance documents are accompanied by four new practice documents covering assessment of air quality measures, implementing low emission zones and two documents on reducing emissions from vehicles. The revised guidance and new technical guidance documents can be found at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/local/guidance/index . Updated tools for LAQM purposes can be found at www.airquality.co.uk/archive/laqm/tools.php .

Air quality indicator for sustainable development 2008 provisional results

Date: 12/02/2009
The air quality indicator is one of the 68 indicators of the Government's Sustainable Development Strategy. It measures annual levels of pollution from particulates (PM₁₀) and ozone (O₃), the two pollutants thought to have the greatest health impacts, as well as the number of days on which levels of any one of a basket of five pollutants were 'moderate or higher'.

http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090129a.htm

The main results are:

Urban background particulate levels averaged 20 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg m^-3) in 2008 compared to 22 µg m^-3 in 2007. These levels have fluctuated in recent years, although there has been an overall decreasing trend since 1993, the first year for which data were available.
Roadside particulate levels averaged 28 µg m^-3 in 2008 compared to 29 µg m^-3 in 2007. There has been a general downward trend since the series began in 1997, although this decline has slowed since 2001 and has been subject to increased fluctuation.
Urban background ozone levels averaged 60 µg m^-3 in 2008 compared to 57 µg m^-3 in 2007 and 44 µg m-3 in 1992. These levels have shown an overall increasing long term trend since 1992, the first year for which data were available.
Rural ozone levels* averaged 70 µg m^-3 in 2008 compared to 68 µg m^-3 in 2007 and 59 µg m^-3 in 1987. There is no clear long term trend.
In urban areas, air pollution in 2008 was recorded as moderate or higher on 27 days on average per site, compared with 24 days in 2007, and 59 days in 1993. This series has shown a high degree of year-on-year variability.
In rural areas, air pollution in 2008 was moderate or higher for 47 days on average per site, compared with 28 in 2007. This series has also fluctuated significantly over time.
These results are provisional and are therefore subject to change. Final results will be available in the spring.

* Measured as the daily maximum 8-hour running mean

Consultantion on UK application to the European Commission for extension to meet air quality limits for PM10 launched on 27 January 2009

Date: 27/01/2009
A consultation on the UK application to the European Commission for an extension to meet air quality limits for particulate matter (PM10) was launched on 27 January 2009.

The consultation can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/air-quality/index.htm and will close on 10 March 2009.

This consultation has been prepared by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in consultation with the Welsh Assembly Government. The Scottish Government is carrying out an identical exercise in Scotland.

Air Pollution in the UK: 2007 Report

Date: 08/01/2009
The latest in a long-running series of annual reports on the UK's air quality is published today; this summarises measurements from large-scale national air pollution monitoring networks operated on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. It includes data and analyses from the calendar year (January to December) of 2007. The reports home page and interactive 2007 report can now be seen at http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/annualreport/annualreport.php

AURN Particulate Monitoring Procurement

Date: 30/10/2008
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have confirmed that they have awarded the contract to purchase 48 x PM2.5 and 22 x PM10 FDMS B/C systems plus a number of upgrades for the Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) to Air Monitors Ltd. The equipment was purchased to ensure the UK network is compliant with the monitoring requirements within the new ambient air quality Directive (2008/50/EC) and to will be installed into the network over the next 2-3 months.

Consultation on New UK Road Vehicle Emission Factors Database

Date: 04/08/2008
The Department for Transport (DfT) are holding a consultation on the New UK Road Vehicle Emission Factors Database with a view to improving the quality of modelling exhaust emissions from road transport. The consultation started on 4 August 2008 and will run until 24 October 2008. The Consultation, supporting documents and spreadsheets are available here http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/consultvehicleemission/

The views of environmental modellers and practitioners who prepare air quality inventories at a national and local level are particularly sought.

Consultation on draft local air quality management guidance

Date: 04/07/2008
This consultation concerns Policy Guidance and Technical Guidance on local air quality management. The Policy Guidance, and the four Practice Guidance documents under it, apply to England only. The Technical Guidance applies UK-wide. The Policy Guidance and Technical Guidance documents are revised versions of guidance issued in 2003 and subsequent guidance issued under these guidance documents. The four Practice Guidance documents covering England are new, and point the way to practical measures that local authorities already have the power to implement, and includes guidance on economic appraisal of such measures.

You are invited to comment by 26 September 2008.

For further details please see LAQM Technical Guidance document TG(08)

Analysis of Trends in Particulate Matter in the United Kingdom - measurement issues

Date: 16/06/2008
During the routine measurement of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 in the UK two issues have been discovered, which have potentially far reaching consequences. The investigation of these two issues is discussed in detail in a report which Defra is publishing for open peer-review. Comments are requested by July 1st 2008. Please click here to download the report and associated documents, and to find out how to respond.

The New Air Quality Directive 2008/50/EC enters into force

Date: 11/06/2008
Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe came into force on June 11th 2008.

The New Directive merges four existing Directives and one Council Decision into a single Directive on air quality. It also sets new standards and target dates for reducing concentrations of fine particles, which together with coarser particles known as PM₁₀ already subject to legislation, are among the most dangerous pollutants for human health.

Under the Directive Member States are required to reduce exposure to PM_2.5 in urban areas by an average of 20% by 2020 based on 2010 levels. It obliges them to bring exposure levels below 20 micrograms/m³ by 2015 in these areas. Throughout their territory Member States will need to respect the PM_2.5 limit value set at 25 micrograms/m³. This value must be achieved by 2015 or, where possible, already by 2010.

For further details please see the DG Environment web pages

2007 and 2008 Hourly Particulate Data Amendment

Date: 30/05/2008
It was recently brought to our attention that there was a problem with the time-stamp on some of the data reported for 2007 and 2008 in the UK Air Quality Archive database. The data were being reported one hour ahead of their true measurement time.
The data have now been corrected and re-loaded. The problem only affected the hourly measured data from TEOM FDMS PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 instruments.
Whilst the long-term monthly and annual means are unchanged, there has been a small affect on the calculated daily means and PM₁₀ exceedence counts. Also, of course if you were using the hourly data for modelling or correlating with other pollutants then the hour-shift in the time-stamp may have had a significant impact on your results.
You may therefore wish to consider downloading the 2007 and 2008 data again and checking or repeating any analyses you have carried out.

Consultation on draft AQEG report: Ozone in the United Kingdom

Date: 15/05/2008
This is the fifth report of the Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG). The report investigates the recent historic trends, current status and likely future changes to tropospheric ozone concentrations in the UK. The report may be downloaded from the Defra web site: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/ozone2008/index.htm or from the Air Quality Archive . Comments are requested by Wednesday, 6 August 2008.

Consultation on EPAQS report: Addendum to Guidelines for halogen and hydrogen halides in ambient air for protecting human health against acute irritancy effects

Date: 15/05/2008
This report by the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) proposes provisional guideline values for chronic systemic effects resulting from airborne exposure to hydrogen iodide and hydrogen fluoride. The report may be downloaded from the Defra web site: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/publications/halogens/index.htm . Comments are requested by Wednesday, 6 August 2008.

Consultation on EPAQS report: guidelines for metals and metalloids in ambient air for the protection of human health

Date: 15/05/2008
In this report, the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) recommends guideline values for arsenic, beryllium, chromium and nickel. These metals are all human or suspected human carcinogens and have been shown to affect human health through the inhalation route. Comments are requested by Wednesday, 6 August 2008. This report can be downloaded from the Defra web site: http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/metals-metalloids/index.htm or here on the Air Quality Archive

Final UK Sustainable Development Air Quality indicator 2007

Date: 15/05/2008
2007 has seen a cooler, wetter summer than previous years. Ozone and particle concentrations and episodes were lower than in the heatwave years of 2003 and 2006. Further detailed information can be found here http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/airqual/aqindicator.htm , or in the Defra Statistical Release http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2008/080429a.htm

National Air Quality Indicator for Local Authorities now published

Date: 02/04/2008
Communities and Local Government have now published the final set of national indicators for local authorities. The air quality indicator (NI 194: Air quality - % reduction in NOx and primary PM10 emissions through a local authority's estate and operations) is included within this set of indicators: www.communities.gov.uk/documents/localgovernment/pdf/735143

Local authorities are required to gather emissions data from 1 January - 31 December 2008, to be reported to Defra by 30 April 2009. The emissions tool to be used for this purpose, and accompanying guidance, is available at: www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/local/indicator.htm

New Practical Guidance on using diffusion tubes has now been released

Date: 19/02/2008
New Practical Guidance on the use of Diffusion Tubes for Ambient NO2 Monitoring has now been released. The document presents the findings of the Working Group on harmonisation of NO2 diffusion tube preparation and analysis methods, led by AEA Energy & Environment and Air Quality Consultants on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. The guidance is primarily written for laboratories that supply and analyse diffusion tubes, but also contains useful guidance for diffusion tube users. The recommendations are expected to be implemented by all parties by January 1st 2009.

Click here to download the Guidance

Preliminary assessment of performance against the Air Quality Strategy objectives in 2007

Date: 24/01/2008
Defra and the Devolved Administrations' preliminary assessment of performance against the Air Quality Strategy objectives in 2007, which is based on national automated monitoring sites, indicates that:

have met the objectives for:
- Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂); benzene; 1,3-butadiene and carbon monoxide
have not met the objectives for:
- Particulates (PM₁₀); nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) - both of which are problems mainly along busy roads and in urban centres.
- Ozone (O₃)

No data for lead are yet available for 2007 for analysis, but it can be assumed that this objective has been achieved as annual levels for the past several years have been extremely low. This is the same situation as this time last year.

This assessment is made on preliminary monitoring data only. Supplementary modelling work may reveal further exceedences although this is not likely for 1,3-butadiene or carbon monoxide.

Under the Local Air Quality Management system over 180 local authorities have declared air quality management areas (AQMAs), mainly for NO₂ and/or PM₁₀, although 12 authorities have also declared for SO₂. Those authorities with AQMAs have produced or are producing air quality action plans.

Further developments on the UK Air Quality Archive

Date: 24/01/2008
Defra and the Devolved Administrations are pleased to announce two simultaneous and significant new developments to the UK Air Quality Archive at www.airquality.co.uk . This high-profile website already provides a comprehensive one-stop resource for data, forecasts, network and background information covering all aspects of air pollution in the UK.

A real time Google Earth^TM interface. This allows website users, after downloading Google Earth and a simple data file – to directly access a real-time map of UK-wide pollution levels, as well as detailed information from over 130 automatic monitoring stations throughout the UK. Simply click on any site icon to obtain graphs, current pollution levels, site pictures and other useful information.
An 'Air Quality in the UK' report home page. The latest in a long-running series of annual reports on the UK's air quality is published today; this summarises measurements from large-scale national air pollution monitoring networks operated on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. It includes data and analyses from the calendar year (January to December) of 2006. The new reports home page and interactive 2006 report can now be seen at www.airquality.co.uk/archive/annualreport

New Local Government Performance Framework - air quality performance indicator

Date: 12/11/2007
The Local Government White Paper announced a new performance framework for local government. In July 2007, Defra published its proposals for the new performance indicators, including one on air quality. On 11 October 2007, Communities and Local Government announced the new performance framework of 198 indicators (visit www.communities.gov.uk ). Communities and Local Government is currently consulting on the technical detail of the proposed indicators.

Defra commissioned research to inform the air quality performance indicator, which developed the methodology for measuring reductions in oxides of nitrogen (NO_X) and primary particulate matter (PM₁₀), as well as CO₂ (for the purpose of the climate change mitigation indicator). The final report, proposed methodology and emissions tool (a user-friendly spreadsheet tool through which local authorities will calculate emissions) are available via the Defra Website .

Changes to the Action Plan Helpdesk Website

Date: 07/11/2007
Following changes to Defra's contractor the Action Planning Helpdesk website has been revised.

The website is now part of the UK Air Quality Archive within the Local Air Quality Management pages and users can contact the site managers to leave feedback, ask questions regarding action planning and sign up for notifications (via email) when additional information is posted or existing information revised. Information on the site is managed in three sections:

Guidance = official guidance and other tools concerning duties regarding action planning and developing plans.
Good Practice = examples and case studies of good practice.
Learning Exchange = an archive of local authority and other experience in action planning from a variety of sources.

Air Quality Strategy

Date: 17/07/2007
The Government and the devolved administrations today published the latest Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, available at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality . It sets out a way forward for work and planning on air quality issues, gives details of the air quality objectives to be achieved and introduces a new policy framework for tackling fine particles, similar to the approach being proposed in the new European air quality directive, currently under negotiation. It also identifies potential new national policy measures which modelling suggests could help achieve significant health benefits and move us closer towards meeting the air quality objectives.

Site Information Archive

Date: 17/07/2007
The UK Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) site information archive website has been revamped and updated with new functionalities and mapping capabilities to enhance data sharing and facilitate usage of information to the public. The new website is available at: www.bv-aurnsiteinfo.co.uk . The AURN site, run by Bureau Veritas on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations, now includes dynamic views of all monitoring stations based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Google Maps^TM, which allow the user to zoom at street level and see either maps or high-resolution satellite images of the surrounding area. The new site is also linked to Google Earth^TM, which gives the user full control over the level of details and information to display. Now it is possible to select monitoring stations by type, by pollutant measured, or by geographical area. Both closed and active site locations can be selected.

New - Improved Air Quality Archive Data Download Selector

Date: 17/07/2007
In response to feedback from technical users the Air Quality Archive data download selector has been updated and improved. The new version incorporates all the previous selection options on a single screen, rather than through the sequential set of menus and pages available previously. This significant enhancement should allow users to select their choices much more rapidly, and to easily clear the selections and start again if they wish to make further data downloads. To try the new system please choose Measured Data and Simple Statistics at http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/data_and_statistics.php .

New – NOx to NO2 Converter Calculator

Date: 23/04/2007
The calculator for converting roadside NOx to NO₂ has been updated. The original calculator, issued as part of the current Technical Guidance, LAQM.TG0₂, was based on measurements from 1999 - 2001. Since then, evidence has emerged that the proportion of primary NO₂ in vehicle exhaust has increased and the relationship between NOx and NO₂ at the roadside has changed.

A new version of the NOx to NO₂ converter has now been issued by Air Quality Consultants, based on findings from a recent study using monitoring data from 2003 - 2006, to allow for the increase in the primary NO₂ from traffic. The new calculator, issued as a spreadsheet, should be used with immediate effect.

For further information, please refer to the following

Updated FAQ available on the LAQM Support Helpdesk Website
NOx to NO2 Calculator via the LAQM Tools page on the Air Quality Archive
Associated report “Deriving NO2 from NOx for air quality assessments of roads-updated to 2006”

New Air Quality Web Site and Database for Scotland

Date: 02/04/2007
www.scottishairquality.co.uk This web site was officially launched on April 2nd 2007. It is funded by the Scottish Executive and has been carefully developed following a Pilot Study and extensive consultation with stakeholders. The site provides comprehensive information on:

Latest up-to-date concentrations across Scotland
Reports and Analysis of trends and historical data
Information on both National air quality policy and the work of local authorities
Descriptions of what causes air pollution, how it is measured, and the relevant impacts

Transformational Government Website Rationalisation

Date: 15/02/2007

Some of you have enquired about the future of Air Quality Archive following items in the media concerning the Transformational Government website rationalisation. The proposal is to improve the quality of service by producing a more centralised and streamlined system of government websites.

At present the plans are still in the proposal stage. For the time being there will be no change to the service offered by this website. Please be assured that whatever the outcome of this process the Air Quality Archive intends to remain committed to maintaining the very highest level of service to its users.