Air Monitoring UK Focus
Air Quality: Commission Sends Final Warning to UK Over Levels of Fine Particle Pollution
The European Commission is pursuing legal action against the UK for failing to comply with EU air quality standards for dangerous PM10 airborne particles. These particles emitted mainly by industry, traffic and domestic heating, may have negative effects on health leading to asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death. A second and final written warning has been sent to the UK for still exceeding the limit values for PM10 in a number of zones.
Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik said: "Air pollution is bad for our health. It reduces human life expectancy by more than eight months on average and by more
than two years in the most polluted cities and regions. Member States must comply with EU air quality standards quickly and reduce air pollutant emissions."
Final warning for UK over PM10 levels
The Commission started this legal action because a number of zones in the UK were exceeding the PM10 limit values in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The Commission is now sending a final warning to the UK for breaching EU air quality standards. According to the latest data provided, two areas, namely the Greater London Urban Area and Gibraltar, have exceeded the limits for PM10.
This is the latest in a series of legal actions taken by the Commission against Member States following the entry into force in June 2008 of the new EU Air Quality Directive[1]. The Directive allows Member States to request, under certain conditions and for specific parts of the country, limited extra time to meet the PM10 standards which have been in force since 2005.
First warning letters were sent at the beginning of 2009 to Member States that had not by then submitted notifications for time extensions or had not notified the Commission about all air quality zones exceeding the limit values for PM10. As a result, most Member States involved submitted notifications for a time extension.
The UK submitted an exemption request for eight zones including the Greater London Urban Area. However, the Commission did not consider the exemption justified, as seven out of the eight zones already complied with the limit values. For the Greater London Urban Area, the Commission considered that the UK had not shown that compliance with the daily PM10 limit value would be achieved by the time the exemption period expired in 2011. The UK has recently sent a further exemption request for Greater London, which is still under assessment. However, given that zones still exceed the PM10 limit values, the Commission is sending the UK a final warning. If the UK fails to take the necessary measures to comply with the legislation, the Commission could refer the case to the European Court of Justice.
Air quality legislation
EU air quality legislation sets binding limit values and/or indicative target values for the maximum permitted concentrations of certain pollutants in the air. Action to reduce pollution through an air quality plan is required where there is a risk of these standards being exceeded.
Limit values for PM10 impose both an annual average concentration value of 40 micrograms (µg)/m3
, and a daily concentration value of 50 µg/m3 which must not be
exceeded more than 35 times per calendar year. These entered into force on 1 January 2005. The 2008 Air Quality Directive allows Member States, under strict conditions, time
extensions for meeting the air quality standards for PM10 (until 11 June 2011) and NO2 and benzene (until 2015 at the latest). During the extension period, limit values continue to apply plus a margin of tolerance.
Reader Reply Card no 264
Wind Sensor Technology Displayed at WINDPOWER 2010
Gill Instruments Ltd recently exhibited their extensive product range at Windpower. The product range on display included the new MetPak II combined weather station as well as the popular WindSonic wind sensor, Extreme Weather WindObserver and WindMaster Pro ultrasonic anemometers with a live demonstration of the low-cost WindSonic wind sensor.
The new Gill MetPak II combined weather station is a compact and lightweight multi- sensor instrument that measures a wide range of weather parameters. Gill ultrasonic technology, as used in the proven WindSonic instrument, measures wind speed and direction. Temperature and humidity are measured using industry standard probes housed in a naturally aspirated radiation shield. Barometric pressure is measured within a vented enclosure. A serial data output is provided to interface to industry standard data loggers. Gill Instruments technical sales engineers will be on-hand at the Windpower International show to discuss the new developments in more detail.
The Gill WindSonic anemometer has become the benchmark for low-cost ultrasonic wind measurement technology, offering all of the benefits of this advanced measurement technique at an affordable price. The new variant of the WindSonic is due to incorporate further enhancements to allow use in a broader range of applications and environments.
Reader Reply Card no 265 What does
air quality monitoring best practice look like?
… JUST ASK ENVIRO TECHNOLOGY
When you’re procuring equipment look for:
•a consultant led approach: sound advice and expert opinion
•certified equipment - intelligently packaged, installed and serviced
•a comprehensive product range •quality assurance standards
•user-friendly dissemination and presentation of data
If you’re awarding a service and maintenance contract, consider:
•rapid-response capability
•remote interrogation of analysers and monitors
•dedicated, hands-on technical support and skilled engineers
•breadth of contract (are spare parts and expendables covered?)
•does the provider have a proven track record in meeting service
level agreements?
For further information, call +44 (0)1453 733 200, fax +44 (0)1453 733201, email
sales@et.co.uk or visit
www.et.co.uk
Follow us on
www.twitter.com/AirMonitoring
EnviroTechnology Services plc Air Pollution Solutions Kingfisher Business Park, London Road, Stroud, Glos GL5 2BY, UK
Air Quality Monitoring
Continuous Emissions Monitoring
Scientific & Research
Services & Other Products
Reader Reply Card no 266 New Gas Analysers for Hazardous Areas
The new gas analyser series EL3060 unifies ABB measuring techniques with many years of competence in continuous monitoring of gases for hazardous areas. The completely flameproof housing fulfills all the requirements of Category II 2G and due to its high safety standards can be used in plants with potentially explosive gas atmospheres of Zone 1 and Zone 2.
The series EL3060 is convincingly compactly built. The paramagnetic oxygen and thermal conductivity analysers have been dramatically reduced in size and can therefore be integrated into the housing of the control unit. The Infrared Photometer is built into its own flameproof housing. This assures the possibility to make use of all the available options.
The paramagnetic oxygen Analyser Magnos206, as well as the thermal conductivity analysers Caldos27 and Caldos25, can be combined with the Infrared Photometer Uras26. This means that complex measuring requirements measuring up to five components with one device, using one control unit and one indicating device, is possible.
The control unit is equipped with a separate terminal box which is completely protected. This way the customer can safely and easily connect flexible signal lines for analog and digital output, Profibus or Modbus, as well as status signals, without compromising the hazardous area protection.
The multi-lingual, menu driven operating interface enables the analyser to be intuitively operated. The menu structure is consistent for all the Analysers and is equivalent to the approved EasyLine series. Touch Keys are actuated through an explosion-proof glass pane. This makes the operation safe and continually reliable without the housing having to be opened.
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 115,000 people.
Reader Reply Card no 263
Do you receive your own copy of International Environmental Technology? If not request your copy today. IT’S FREE!
info@iet-pub.com EnviroTechnologyEnviroTechnology
www.et.co.uk
xi
Annual Buyers Guide 2010
IET
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
