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Dept for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Answer

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many air quality monitoring sites operate in the United Kingdom; how many of these sites monitor all the pollutants named in the National Air Quality Strategy; and how many of these sites recorded air quality exceedences for each of the pollutants named in the National Air Quality Strategy. [64661] Mr. Meacher: [holding answer 27 June 2002]: There are a total of 1709 air quality monitoring sites in United Kingdom. These are broken down by network in Table 1 below. Table 1: Number of air quality monitoring sites in the United Kingdom _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of sites Automatic monitoring (nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, PM10, 122 carbon monoxide, ozone, benzene, 1,3-butadiene) Non-automatic monitoring: Nitrogen dioxide diffusion tubes 1309 Black smoke/sulphur dioxide 150 Rural sulphur dioxide 40 Rural nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube 32 Lead 6 Benzene 28 Hazardous air pollutants (PCBs, Dioxins, polycyclic aromatic 22 hydrocarbons) Total 1709 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. No sites monitor all the pollutants in the Air Quality Strategy. However, London Marylebone Road monitors all the pollutants except lead. The number of sites recording air quality exceedences for the pollutants named in the Strategy during 2001 are given in Table 2 below. Table 2: number of sites exceeding the standards and objectives in the Air Quality Strategy in 2001 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Automatic sites Standard Objective Number of sites Number of sites exceeding Air Quality exceeding Air Quality Strategy standard in Strategy objective in 2001 2001 Nitrogen dioxide Hourly mean, 200 not to be exceeded more 18 4 micrograms per metre than 18 times per year cubed, Annual mean, 40 32 0 micrograms per metre cubed Sulphur dioxide 15 minute mean, 266 not to be exceeded more 17 1 micrograms per metre than 35 times per year cubed Hourly mean, 350 not to be exceeded more 2 0 micrograms per metre than 24 times per year cubed, Daily mean, 125 not to be exceeded more 1 1 micrograms per metre than 3 times per year cubed Particulate matter (PM10) 24 hour mean, 50 not to be exceeded more 59 6 micrograms per cubic than 35 times per year metre Annual mean, 40 1 micrograms per cubic metre Carbon monoxide Running 8 hour mean, 0 0 11.6 milligrams per metre cubed Benzene Running annual mean, 0 0 16.25 micrograms per metre cubed 1,3-butadiene Running annual mean 2.25 0 0 micrograms per metre cubed Non-Automatic sites Number of sites Number of sites exceeding Air Quality exceeding Air Quality Strategy standard in Strategy objective in 2001 2001 Nitrogen dioxide Annual mean 40 251 micrograms per metre cubed Sulphur dioxide Daily mean, 125 not to be exceeded more 8 4 micrograms per metre than 3 times per year cubed Lead Annual mean, 0.5 0 0 micrograms per metre cubed _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

388 c53-6W;388 c53-4W; 64661

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Air pollution Monitoring Standards Pollutants

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk