GAW Report No. 205 - IGAC Project

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTIONIn Europe, air quality management began with the signing of the United Nations EconomicCommission for Europe (UNECE) 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary AirPollution (LRTAP), which has been extended by eight protocols, the 1999 Gothenburg Protocolbeing the last one. LRTAP aims to limit and gradually reduce and prevent air pollution bydeveloping policies and strategies across its 51 parties. In parallel to LRTAP, in 2001 theEuropean Commission established National Emissions Ceilings (NEC), which set nationalemissions limits for four pollutants that are responsible for acidification, eutrophication, andground-level ozone pollution. The NECs are largely based on the Gothenburg Protocol. In 2005,the European Commission also launched the Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution (TSAP), the firstof its seven Thematic Strategies in the European Union’s Sixth Environment Action Programme(EAP). TSAP established interim objectives for air pollution in the EU and proposes appropriatemeasures for achieving them, e.g. setting air quality standards and rules for monitoring. Air qualitymanagement in the European Union is thus an interplay between the Air Quality Directives definedunder TSAP, the NEC directives, and LRTAP. Table 3 shows the current European CommissionAir Quality Standards.Table 3 - European Commission Air Quality StandardsPollutant Concentration Averaging PeriodParticulate Matter (PM2.5) 25 µg/m3 1 yearParticulate Matter (PM10) 50 µg/m3 24 hoursOzone 120 µg/m3 8-hrNitrogen Dioxide40 µg/m31 yearSulphur Dioxide200 µg/m3125 µg/m3350 µg/m324 hour24 hours1 hourIn 1987, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Air Quality Guidelines for Europe.The aim of the guidelines was to provide a basis for protecting public health from adverse effectsof air pollutants, to eliminate or reduce exposure to those pollutants, and to guide national andlocal authorities in risk management decisions. In 2005, following important new research fromlow- and middle-income countries, the WHO released new Air Quality Guidelines for four commonpollutants (PM, O 3 , NO 2 , and SO 2 ) that are intended to inform policy-makers from different parts ofthe world on appropriate targets for policy related to air quality management. Table 4 shows the2005 WHO air quality guidelines.Table 4 - World Health Organization Air Quality GuidelinesPollutant Concentration Averaging PeriodParticulate Matter (PM2.5) 10 µg/m 325 µg/m 31 year24 hourParticulate Matter (PM10) 20 µg/m 350 µg/m 31 year24 hourOzone 100 µg/m 3 8 hourNitrogen Dioxide 40 µg/m 3200 µg/m 31 year1 hourSulphur Dioxide 20 µg/m 3500 µg/m 324 hour10 minuteIt must be pointed out that air quality improvements throughout the world do not merelyfollow from the dictation of air quality standards similar to those designed by US EPA, theEuropean Commission, or the WHO. Each country’s national air quality standards should and willlikely vary according to the approach adopted for balancing health risks, technological feasibility,economic considerations, and various other political and social factors. Determining national airquality standards and enforcing them depends greatly on the level of development and nationalcapability in air quality management.13