Selected Emission Results from the National Atmospheric

Emissions Inventory, 2019

David Jenks, Business Intelligence analyst

August 2021

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Contents

1 Overview ...... 1 1.1 Key findings for Lancashire-12 in 2019 ...... 1 2 Background information ...... 1 2.1 Nitrogen oxides ...... 2 2.2 Particulate matter (PM2.5) ...... 2 2.3 Sulphur dioxide ...... 2 2.4 The Gothenburg Protocol ...... 3 2.5 Air quality management areas ...... 3 3 Analysis of sector results ...... 3 3.1 Pollution from road transport ...... 3 3.2 High emissions of pollution from various sectors ...... 8 3.3 Point source emissions ...... 8 3.4 Total emissions of NOx, particulates and SO2 ...... 8

Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

1 Overview

This article considers a selection of the available emission results for the Lancashire- 14 area. This encompasses the 12-districts that are within the Lancashire County Council area, and the two unitary authorities of with Darwen and Blackpool.

1.1 Key findings for Lancashire-12 in 2019 • Hanson Cement near Clitheroe in was identified as the source of 884 tonnes of NOx, 128 tonnes of sulphur dioxide and 17.9 tonnes of particulate matter • Nearly all of the motorways in Lancashire were responsible for levels of NOx that were in the highest 5% of grid squares for NOx attributed to road transport in the UK • In South Ribble just under 500 tonnes of NOx, 23 tonnes of SO2 and 19 tonnes of particulate matter were generated in Leyland from industrial sources • 690 tonnes of NOx were generated by motorway traffic in Chorley district • The motorways in South Ribble were sources for 255 tonnes of NOx and high levels of particulate emissions (8 tonnes) • The motorways in Preston were sources for 446 tonnes of NOx and high levels of particulate emissions • Heysham Port was the source of over 160 tonnes of NOx • is identified as a source for over 100 tonnes of NOx and around 11 tonnes of particulate matter • Chemical and waste processing works on the Wyre estuary produced nearly 120 tonnes of NOx and 41 tonnes of SO2

2 Background information The national atmospheric emissions inventory (NAEI) has been estimating annual emissions since 1970. The organisation collects and analyses information from a wide range of data sources that include national energy statistics and results for individual plants. The NAEI website has a number of national emission maps that cover a wide variety of pollutants. The maps reveal how the Lancashire area compares with other parts of the country. The NAEI website also contains details and trend information on the various forms of air pollutants.

From the NAEI website, we have downloaded the 2019 emissions data per square kilometre for nitrogen oxides, particulates and sulphur dioxide. These are three important pollutants with high emission levels. In comparison, a number of UK maps for the other pollutants record very low emission levels.

Emissions of each pollutant are separated into 11 sectors classified by source according to CORINAIR guidelines. These are • Combustion in energy production and transformation • Combustion in commercial, institutional, residential and agriculture

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

• Combustion in industry • Production processes • Extraction and distribution of fossil fuels • Solvent use • Road transport • Other transport and mobile machinery • Waste treatment and disposal • Agriculture, forestry and landuse change • Nature In addition the grid data is supplied as total area emissions and total values including point source emissions for each pollutant. The point sources are the biggest emitters of various pollutants, especially NOx and SO2. These are mostly power stations, steelworks, cement works and other large industrial operations. Their very high emission figures are excluded from the area figures, but we have included symbols for them on Appendices 1-3 with their emission levels as labels. We have analysed most of the components for the three pollutants, but have only mapped the most relevant ones.

2.1 Nitrogen oxides

The term nitrogen oxides (NOx) refers to two gases – nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Nitrogen oxides contribute to acid rain by mixing with water particles to form nitric acid, to the depletion of the ozone layer and have detrimental effects on health. They are also greenhouse gases. High emission levels in the county are associated with urban areas and the main road networks. Nitrogen oxides are generated by many types of combustion, irrespective of which fuel is being combusted, because 78% of atmospheric gases are nitrogen. If in an attempt to reduce emissions, internal combustion engines were converted to run on hydrogen they would still produce NOx if tuned for maximum efficiency, although they could be tuned to produce minimal quantities. NAEI provide a time-series graph showing the reduction in emissions of this pollutant dating as far back as 1970.

2.2 Particulate matter (PM2.5) Particulate matter refers to tiny particles suspended in the air, these are in the mid- range for size of particulates monitored, being less than 2.5 µm in size, and come from transport, industrial, agricultural and mining operations and can be difficult to control. They include not only smoke and dust particles, but also mould and other spores and pollen. Particulates can stick to the surfaces of buildings resulting in blackening of the facades. They can also settle on plants and damage leaves, and for humans they may affect the heart and lungs. Particulates are often seen as one of the most critical of pollutants as a result of their impact on human health, but do not contribute towards acid rain. Emissions of PM2.5s have fallen by 55% between 1990 and 2019. NAEI provide a time-series graph showing the reduction in emissions of this pollutant dating as far back as 1970.

2.3 Sulphur dioxide Sulphur dioxide is associated with the combustion of fossil fuels, particularly coal. When most of the country's power stations ran on coal, the output of SO2 was enormous. In the UK in 1979 the energy and transformation sector was responsible

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

for the generation of 3.475 megatonnes of SO2. By 2019 this had fallen to 37.7 kilotonnes. The use of coal in energy production has all but been phased out in the UK. SO2 mixes with chemicals in the air to form sulphuric acid, which falls in acid rain and is damaging to vegetation, forestry and agriculture. Transport is only a very minor source of SO2, but industrial processes such as those at iron and cement works are major sources.

2.4 The Gothenburg Protocol The Gothenburg Protocol, or the 1999 Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone (as amended in 2012) — forms part of the 1979 UNECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) which aims to protect humans from air pollution. The Convention came about after widespread publicity of studies into the effects of acid rain in the Northern Hemisphere in the 1960s and 70s. The Protocol was signed by 31 parties and has since been ratified by 26, including the EU, other European nations and the USA. It originally covered four main pollutants: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia, but was amended to include 'dust' or particulates. The protocol does not cover emissions from sea shipping, the volume of which continues to increase. Targets for reduction were set for 2010, and further targets have been set for future dates of which the latest extends to 2030. The UK emissions of SO2 in 2019 are 50% below the UK's emission ceiling, and Gothenburg Protocol, target for 2020. However for NOx they have to be reduced by 7% and for particulates by a further 17% to meet the 2020 targets.

2.5 Air quality management areas If a local authority finds an air quality issue in a particular locality, it must declare an air quality management area (AQMA) that could be just one or two streets, or cover a much larger locality. The authority will then put together a plan to improve the air quality. Around the UK some AQMAs monitor NO2, SO2 and / or particulates, but in Lancashire only NO2 is monitored. It is for this reason that their locations only appear on the NOx road transport map.

3 Analysis of sector results

3.1 Pollution from road transport Figure 1 (Emissions of nitrogen oxides from road transport sources) highlights that the heavier concentrations of NOx occur along the major roads, particularly the M6, M61, M55, M58 and M65. The M6 passes through Chorley, South Ribble, Preston, Wyre and Lancaster districts. The M61 branches off the M6 in South Ribble and continues through Chorley. The M55 links Blackpool to the M6 at a junction just north east of Preston urban area via Fylde district. The M58 links Liverpool to the M6 at a point just south of the Lancashire boundary, but passes through West Lancashire district close to Skelmersdale, while the M65 links the M6 to East Lancashire, passing through Chorley, Blackburn with Darwen, Hyndburn, Burnley and Pendle. The M66 heads north from the M60 and M62 around Manchester, and basically stops on the Rossendale border, but links with the A56 trunk road that runs through Haslingden and continues through Hyndburn to link up with the M65 near the

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

boundary between Hyndburn and Burnley. Emissions on the southern section of the M6 in Chorley and South Ribble are particularly high, which will be discussed later. Apart from the western half of the M55 in Fylde district the 1 km squares nearest to these motorways are mostly in the highest 10% of grid squares for NOx in this sector for the UK. It is only Ribble Valley that has few major roads and consequently much lower emissions. The highly urbanised Blackpool authority has few areas of low emissions, these being on the outskirts.

Table 1 also gives an indication of the volume of traffic on the roads in 2019.

Table 1, vehicle kilometres and daily flow of traffic, 2019 Millions of vehicle kilometres Vehicles Car Non-car Trunk roads All roads Annual average daily flow* Blackburn with 690 148 219 838 4,142 Darwen Blackpool 566 105 2 671 4,018 Lancashire-12 10,227 2,619 4,623 12,846 4,995 Lancashire-14 11,483 2,872 4,732 14,355 - Source: Department for Transport, road traffic statistics, Traffic by authority (TRA89) * The number of vehicles passing in 24 hours at an average point on the road network in each local authority. This controls for differing length of road in each authority, providing a measure of how heavily used the roads are. It is calculated by dividing the estimate of annual vehicle miles in each local authority by the length of road in that authority and number of days in the year

The pattern of emissions of particulates in the road transport sector (figure 2) is almost identical to those of the NOx emissions in figure 1. While it is on the M6, M61, M65 and A56 that high emission values are most common, the centres of Preston, Burnley, Chorley and Lancaster are also affected

Tables 2 and 2a give summary data of the emissions which have road transport as their source. We have calculated these by converting the NAEI data into a form that could be more easily analysed geographically. For all of the analysis we have used the ESRI ArcMap Geographic Information System, and all of the static map outputs are generated by this software. A more detailed table with district results is available as a Microsoft Excel download.

Table 2, tonnage of NOx and PM2.5 emissions associated with road transport, NOx Percentage of Particulate Percentage of attributed total NOx matter (PM2.5) total PM2.5s to road attributed to attributed to attributed to road transport road transport road transport transport (tonnes) sources (tonnes) sources Lancashire-12 5,910 44.8% 263 13.2% Lancashire-14 6,557 44.9% 296 12.8% Source: Business Intelligence, LCC. Calculated from NAEI data.

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

Table 2a shows the tonnage of NOx emissions only, and split by road class. This has been calculated by identifying the centroid of grid squares within various distances (beginning with 499 metres) from the road centre line. At junctions only the highest road class is used, to avoid double-counting. The grand total figure is higher than the components because there are emissions from squares outside the range of the road network we have used.

Table 2a, tonnage of NOx emissions from road transport by road class Motorways Primary Other 'B' Minor Total and other roads 'A' Roads roads (tonnes) trunk roads (tonnes) Roads (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) Burnley 138 73 65 - 26 304 Chorley 690 6 140 35 44 917 Fylde 192 48 75 42 36 395 Hyndburn 209 5 80 31 19 345 Lancaster 402 88 143 43 110 796 Pendle 121 76 50 32 35 316 Preston 446 206 20 53 60 787 Ribble - 120 26 38 67 261 Valley Rossendale 131 - 89 27 21 273 South 255 148 7 64 39 512 Ribble West 143 168 63 50 71 496 Lancashire Wyre 260 - 121 56 66 508 Lancashire 2,987 939 879 470 592 5,910 -12 Blackburn 140 145 53 9 33 384 with Darwen Blackpool - 48 167 29 19 263 Lancashire 3,127 1,131 1,099 509 645 6,557 -14 Source: Business Intelligence, LCC. Calculated from NAEI data using Ordnance Survey mapping and ESRI ArcGIS software.

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

Figure 1: Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in Lancashire from road transport sources, 2019, selected percentiles in UK

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

Figure 2: Emissions of particulates (PM 2.5s) in Lancashire from road transport sources, 2019, selected percentiles in UK

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

3.2 High emissions of pollution from various sectors

We have replaced the previous maps and tables in this section with a new Microsoft Power BI visualisation included in the slides which are embedded in the front (asp) page of this article. Or it can be accessed as a web page. This has all one kilometre grid squares where emissions exceed one tonne per annum for the road transport and other transport sectors for particulates (pm2.5) and NOx, or the industrial combustion sectors for particulates, NOx and SO2. It is possible to zoom in to the squares, which display a circle or pie chart on their centres. Of particular note is the large symbol on the Leyland / Lancashire Business Park representing a total of 496 tonnes from industrial combustion estimated in the square. At Warton in Fylde 100.5 tonnes from other transport sources is estimated, while at Heysham Harbour another 161 tonnes was estimated as coming from the same sector.

We have calculated total district tonnages for the three main pollutants, with totals for NOx and particulates having road transport as their source. This is available as an excel download.

3.3 Point source emissions The major point sources are now also mapped in the same Microsoft Power BI slide that shows the high area emissions mentioned above. These are a small selection of where the emissions of each pollutant exceeds one tonne per annum. The Hanson Cement Works near Clitheroe in Ribble Valley continues to be a major source of NOx and SO2, although the operators use a 'wet gas scrubber' which may ameliorate the level of these emissions. In 2019 there were 884 tonnes of NOx and 128 tonnes of SO2 directly attributed to the works. By way of comparison, there are two other cement works around England responsible for over 1,000 tonnes one of which, the Hope cement works in Derbyshire emitted 2,091 tonnes of NOx and 1,612 tonnes of SO2 while the Cemex plant at Rugby, also emitted 1,666 tonnes of NOx. The quantiles used in this report do not include the point source data, but they are shown on the maps supplied as Appendices (1 to 3) with the quantities labelled. The full list is available on the NAEI website.

3.4 Total emissions of NOx, particulates and SO2 Having already analysed the major sources of emissions in the county, it is of limited value to try further analysis on the total emission data, but we have provided a total emissions map for each of the three pollutants that we have considered. These can be downloaded from the hyperlinks. There are some emissions from every grid square in the county, but some of these low levels will be due to the agriculture, forestry and landuse change and the nature sectors. The major point sources of emissions are shown on the maps with the quantity of emissions (in tonnes per annum) as labels, but these are too numerous to be mentioned here for the NOx and particulate maps. The only ones shown have emissions exceeding one tonne per

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Selected Lancashire Emission Results from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

annum. Suffice to say that 366 tonnes of NOx come from the waste and energy recovery sector and nearly 100 tonnes from a variety of energy producers. On the total NOx map, Appendix 1, the only new sources not already identified are at

• Waterside Business Park near Burscough in West Lancashire. Total NOx emissions here were 64 tonnes, with 69 tonnes in the adjacent grid square • BAe systems at Samlesbury on South Ribble / Ribble Valley boundary. The total NOx emissions here were 86.5 tonnes. • Lappet Manufacturing at Vale Mill, Calder Vale, Wyre, the total NOx emissions here were 75 tonnes. Some of the locations with the highest levels of total particulate emissions (Appendix 2) have been mentioned already. Highest emissions are found near the Victrex chemical works in Wyre (30.7 tonnes), at the Leyland Business Park, South Ribble (19.4 tonnes), at Vale Mill, Wyre (19.7 tonnes), and at Warton Aerodrome, Fylde (10.7 tonnes). Appendix 3, total sulphur dioxide emissions, has fewer major point sources indicated than for the other 2 pollutants, the only significant one being Hanson Cement (Ribble Valley) which emitted a substantial 128.4 tonnes. Also of note is the site on the Wyre estuary emitting 41 tonnes, which is probably the Thornton waste recovery plant, Leyland Business Park, 22.5 tonnes (South Ribble) and 38.8 tonnes next to the M55 Junction 3, (Fylde). The Vale Mill at Calder Vale (24.4 tonnes) and a nearby site covering Stirzaker Farm (13.5 tonnes) were two smaller emitters of SO2 in Wyre district. All of these location now appear on the Microsoft Power BI slide, which allows the user to zoom in for greater detail.

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