Executive Summary
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Harlow District Council – England Date April 2010 2010 Air Quality Progress Report for Harlow District Council In fulfillment of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 Local Air Quality Management Date April 2010 . Progress Report i Date April 2010 Harlow District Council - England Local Ron Taylor Authority Officer Department Environmental Health Services Address Harlow Council Civic Centre The Water Gardens Harlow CM20 1WG Telephone 01279 446164 e-mail [email protected] Report HAR/PR2010 Reference Final Copy 01/Mar31 number Date 31st March 2010 Report written by: Paul Hinsley Environment, Strategy and Highways Essex County Council County Hall Chelmsford Essex CM1 1QH On behalf of the : Essex Air Quality Consortium Monitoring Network. ii Progress Report Harlow District Council – England Date April 2010 Executive Summary The monitoring undertaken confirms that the annual mean nitrogen dioxide and PM10 objectives have not been exceeded. There have been no other significant changes to NO2 or PM10 concentrations or emissions elsewhere in the District since the previous round of Review and Assessment. The assessment of likely impacts of local developments for road transport, other transport, industrial processes, commercial/domestic, fugitive emissions, residential and commercial sources indicate that there are no new changes that require the Council to undertake a Detailed Assessment. Progress Report iii Date April 2010 Harlow District Council - England Table of contents 1 Introduction 6 1.1 Description of Local Authority Area 6 1.2 Purpose of Progress Report 6 1.3 Air Quality Objectives 6 1.4 Summary of Previous Review and Assessments 8 2 New Monitoring Data 9 2.1 Summary of Monitoring Undertaken 9 2.2 Comparison of Monitoring Results with Air Quality Objectives 14 3 New Local Developments 16 4 Planning Applications 17 5 Local Transport Plans and Strategies 18 6 Conclusions and Proposed Actions 19 6.1 Conclusions from New Monitoring Data 19 6.2 Proposed Actions 19 7 References 20 iv Progress Report Harlow District Council – England Date April 2010 Appendices Appendix 1 QA:QC data Appendix 2 Harlow District Council Monitoring Data 2009 Appendix 3 Harlow District Council Processes 2009 List of Tables Table 1.1 Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of Local Air Quality Management in England. Table 2.1 Details of Non- Automatic Monitoring Sites Table 2.2 Results of Nitrogen Dioxide Diffusion Tubes List of Figures Figure 2.1a – c Maps of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites Progress Report v Date April 2010 Harlow District Council - England 1 Introduction 1.1 Description of Local Authority Area The District of Harlow is located in west of Essex. It is a “new” town and the area forms part of the London commuter belt. The total area covered by the Council is just over 30km2, with a population of approximately 78,000. The main employment in the area is service related, although there is some industry, mainly located at Templefields to the north and the Pinnacles to the northwest. The town has two railway stations (on the West Anglia main line) and is near the M11 motorway for access to London and the rest of the country. Harlow also has one of the most extensive cycle track networks in the country, connecting the town centre and industrial areas. The town centre and many of its neighbourhood shopping facilities have, in recent years, undergone major redevelopment, and many of the original town buildings and industrial units have been rebuilt. There are around 30 minor industrial processes that are regulated by the Council and five larger industrial processes regulated by the Environment Agency in the Council‟s area. Most of which are located in the two main industrial areas in the town, Templefields (to the North), and the Pinnacles (to the Northwest). Traffic emissions are the most significant source of air pollution in Harlow. The main roads in the District are the M11 and the A414. 1.2 Purpose of Progress Report Progress Reports are required in the intervening years between the three-yearly Updating and Screening Assessment reports. Their purpose is to maintain continuity in the Local Air Quality Management process. They are not intended to be as detailed as Updating and Screening Assessment Reports, or to require as much effort. However, if the Progress Report identifies the risk of exceedence of an Air Quality Objective, the Local Authority (LA) should undertake a Detailed Assessment immediately, and not wait until the next round of Review and Assessment. 1.3 Air Quality Objectives The air quality objectives applicable to Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) in England are set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 (SI 928), and the Air Quality (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 (SI 3043). They are shown in Table 1.1. This table shows the objectives in units of microgrammes per cubic metre g/m3 (for carbon monoxide the units used are milligrammes per cubic metre, mg/m3). Table 1.1. includes the number of permitted exceedences in any given year (where applicable). 6 Progress Report Harlow District Council – England Date April 2010 Table 1.1 Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of Local Air Quality Management in England. Pollutant Date to be Concentration Measured as achieved by Benzene 16.25 µg/m3 Running annual 31.12.2003 mean 5.00 µg/m3 Running annual 31.12.2010 mean 1,3-Butadiene 2.25 µg/m3 Running annual 31.12.2003 mean Carbon monoxide 10.0 mg/m3 Running 8-hour 31.12.2003 mean Lead 0.5 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2004 0.25 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2008 Nitrogen dioxide 200 µg/m3 not to be 1-hour mean 31.12.2005 exceeded more than 18 times a year 40 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2005 3 Particles (PM10) 50 µg/m , not to be 24-hour mean 31.12.2004 (gravimetric) exceeded more than 35 times a year 40 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2004 Sulphur dioxide 350 µg/m3, not to be 1-hour mean 31.12.2004 exceeded more than 24 times a year 125 µg/m3, not to be 24-hour mean 31.12.2004 exceeded more than 3 times a year 266 µg/m3, not to be 15-minute mean 31.12.2005 exceeded more than 35 times a year Progress Report 7 Date April 2010 Harlow District Council - England 1.4 Summary of Previous Review and Assessments The Council undertook previous rounds of Review and Assessment of air quality. The main issue with respect to local air quality was found to be road traffic emissions (NO2) emanating from vehicles, but it was considered that the air quality objectives would be met where there was relevant exposure and that it was not necessary to designate an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in the District. Report type and date Issue Outcome Progress Report 04 Vehicles/ NO2 All objectives achieved Progress Report 05 Vehicles /NO2 All objectives achieved USA 06 Vehicles /NO2 All objectives achieved Progress Report 07 Vehicles /NO2 All objectives achieved Progress Report 08 Vehicles /NO2 All objectives achieved USA 09 Vehicles /NO2 All objectives achieved 8 Progress Report Harlow District Council – England Date April 2010 2 New Monitoring Data 2.1 Summary of Monitoring Undertaken 2.1.1 Automatic Monitoring Sites Harlow District Council currently has no Automatic Monitoring Site. The Council opened its continuous site in 2001 and closed it in late 2008. The site was classified as a background site and the provisional 2008 results are shown in Table 1 along with all recent years from 2003. Although it should be noted that as reported in the Council‟s previous Updating and Screening assessment for 2006, that there were instrument problems in 2005. These problems continued into 2006 and for both these years there was insufficient data capture to report. There was almost full data capture in 2007 and the annual mean concentration met the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective. The annual mean concentration for both 2003 and 2004 was similar, although there was reduced data capture for each of these years. Table 1 Results of monitoring at the Harlow monitoring site (µg m-3) (2003 – 2008) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Annual mean 33.9 33.0 N/A N/A 34 29.4 Data capture % 71.8 65.0 99.9 64.2 2.1.2 Non-Automatic Monitoring Harlow District Council undertook monitoring at 4 NO2 diffusion tubes sites in 2009 their locations are shown at figure 2.2 and details are presented in table 2.2. Details of Non- Automatic Monitoring Sites The diffusion tubes are supplied and analysed by Harwell Scientifics Preparation method : 50% TEA in acetone United Kingdom Accreditation Services (Testing Laboratory number 1015). WASP – Annual Performance Criteria for NO2 Diffusion Tubes used in Local Air Quality Management (LAQM), 2008 onwards, and Summary of Laboratory Performance in Rounds 103-107. Prepared by AEA on behalf of Defra and the Devolved Administrations. Table 1 Laboratories that have demonstrated satisfactory performance in the WASP scheme for analysis of NO2 diffusion tubes, July 2007 – July 2008. Laboratory Performance on basis of RPI, OLD Performance on basis of RPI, CRITERIA, best 4 out of the 5 rounds NEW CRITERIA ,best 4 out of 103-107 the 5 rounds 103-107 Harwell Scientifics Good Good Progress Report 9 Date April 2010 Harlow District Council - England The diffusion tubes and their placement are not part of any co-location study With regard to the application of a bias adjustment factor for the diffusion tubes, the technical guidance LAQM.TG (09) and Review and Assessment Helpdesk recommends use of a local bias adjustment factor where available and relevant to diffusion tube sites.