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Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland a Public Discussion Document November 2020 A Public Discussion Document Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 Sustainability at the heart of a living, working, active landscape valued by everyone. Page A Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 You can get a copy of this document in other formats; including • Paper Copy • Large Print • Braille • Audio CD/MP3 • Other languages • Telephone: 028 9056 9893 should you have any queries about the format of the document. If you have a hearing difficulty you can contact the Department via Text Relay. Dial 18001 028 9056 9893 • Email: [email protected] • Visit our webpage at: http://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/clean_air_strategy_discussion_ document • Write to: Air and Environment Quality Klondyke Building Gasworks Business Park Cromac Avenue Belfast, BT7 2JA Page 1 Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 Contents Executive Summary ...........................................................................................3 Chapter 1 - The Background: Sources and Effects of Air Pollution ....................5 Chapter 2 - Transport ....................................................................................... 41 Chapter 3 - Household Emissions ................................................................... 71 Chapter 4 - Agricultural Emissions ................................................................... 97 Chapter 5 - Industrial Emissions .....................................................................111 Chapter 6 - Local Air Quality Management .....................................................118 Chapter 7 - Communication ........................................................................... 139 Appendix 1 Consultation Questions ............................................................... 148 Appendix 2 Consultation Abbreviations ......................................................... 150 Page 2 Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 Executive Summary Clean air is vital for human health and our natural environment. Increasingly, research is showing us that the effects of air pollution on human health are more complex and widespread than previously thought. In Northern Ireland, we face similar issues with air pollution to the rest of the UK and Europe - most notably, levels of nitrogen dioxide found in urban centres, arising principally from road traffic, in particular, diesel engines. In addition to this, we have problems with emissions from household heating and from agriculture. Northern Ireland has not had its own dedicated Clean Air Strategy before now. There is, however, increasing recognition that existing air quality policy and frameworks are not delivering the expected improvements in air quality. There is a wide range of policy options set out in this public discussion document. They are based on research, on examples of best practice elsewhere, and on our understanding of the air quality problems in Northern Ireland. This document represents a comprehensive review of air quality policy and legislation in Northern Ireland and invites views on possible solutions to take forward. Some of these solutions may be related to decarbonisation of the energy sector, and we refer to these in the relevant chapters. Chapter 1 in this document looks at air quality in Northern Ireland and the levels of pollutants we monitor. It examines the health impacts of air pollution and looks at trends in the levels of air pollutants here. Chapter 2 looks at air pollution from road transport. Greater Belfast area is one of 37 UK reporting areas that in 2015 breached the EU Air Quality Directive’s annual mean limit value for nitrogen dioxide. The levels of this pollutant that we measure here come primarily from road traffic. Chapter 3 examines air pollution from household burning of solid fuel, which takes place to a greater extent in urban areas of Northern Ireland compared with urban areas in the rest of the UK. Levels of particular pollutants monitored here show that solid fuel burning presents air pollution risks in urban centres. In addition, solid fuel burning is a major contributor to winter pollution episodes. The agriculture sector in Northern Ireland produces high levels of ammonia, an air pollutant that can damage sensitive habitats, as well as contribute to levels of fine particulate matter. Chapter 4 deals with agricultural emissions. Chapter 5 considers emissions from industry, and the regulatory regimes that are currently in place to limit them. Page 3 Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 Chapter 6 looks at the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) system. This system was set up in the early 2000s, and supports councils in their review of air quality. The LAQM system is underperforming in that it is not showing us improvements in air quality from one year to the next. Finally, Chapter 7 looks at how we might increase the effectiveness of our communications, which relate to both the impacts of air pollution, as well as the actions that individuals can take to reduce air pollution. This document is intended to provoke discussion towards policy options that could contribute to meeting the challenges associated with achieving the following Outcomes of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Outcomes Delivery Plan: Outcome 2 - ‘We live and work sustainably - protecting the environment’; Outcome 4 - ‘We enjoy long, healthy, active lives’; and Outcome 12 - ‘We give our children and young people the best start in life.’ In doing so, we also promote the DAERA’s core Vision, which is that we may enjoy ‘Sustainability at the heart of a living, working, active landscape, valued by everyone’. Page 4 Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 Chapter 1 - The Background: Sources and Effects of Air Pollution 1.1 Health and Mortality Impacts of Air Pollution The health effects of air pollution are now well established and backed up by research that shows clear links between air pollution and negative health outcomes. A report published by Public Health England in 2014 estimated that in 2010, 553 deaths in 1 over-25s in Northern Ireland were attributable to exposure to anthropogenic air pollution (PM2.5 ). The fraction of mortality due to anthropogenic air pollution in Northern Ireland district council areas ranged from 5.2% in Belfast to 2.5% in Fermanagh with an average for Northern Ireland 2 being 3.8%. The report estimated that, overall, deaths in the whole of the UK due to PM2.5 exposure was ca. 5.3%. A report published by the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollution contains an estimate of annual UK deaths due to exposure to air pollution of between 28,000 and 36,000 people.3 This analysis takes into account exposure to two major air pollutants - nitrogen dioxide, NO2, and particulate matter, PM2.5. These two air pollutants are more generally found at levels of concern than others. Meanwhile, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified outdoor air 4 pollution - as a whole - as a cancer-causing agent (carcinogen). 1 PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter, suspended in the air, where the diameter of particles is 2.5 micrometers or less. Levels of PM2.5 are measured in microgrammes per cubic meter of air: See infographic on page XX. 2 Public Health England, Estimating Local Mortality Burdens Associated with Particulate Air Pollution, 2014, p21. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332854/PHE_CRCE_010.pdf 3 COMEAP, 2018, Associations of long-term average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide with mortality: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/734799/COMEAP_NO2_ Report.pdf 4 WHO, IARC: ‘Outdoor air pollution a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths’: https://www.iarc.fr/wp-content/ uploads/2018/07/pr221_E.pdf Page 5 Clean Air Strategy for Northern Ireland A Public Discussion Document November 2020 1.2 Air Pollutants of Concern Fig 1-1 Particulate matter (PM2.5) Note: all pollutant infographics courtesy of Defra Digital Comms, 2019. Figures are specific to NI, from the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory 1990-2017.5 Particulate matter (PM) consists of fine particles that, once in the air, are harmful to human health. Particulate matter can be classified as either particles with a diameter of less than 10 micrometers (PM10) or even smaller, as PM2.5 (particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers). Smaller particles, such as PM2.5, are more harmful, because as well as acting as a respiratory irritant, they can penetrate deeper into the lungs. The very smallest particles, ultrafine PM0.1 (the smallest fraction of PM2.5), are nano-particles smaller than 0.1 microns and are thought, once inhaled, to be able to pass directly into the bloodstream. The available evidence suggests that long-term exposure to PM2.5 can lead to premature mortality. PM is formed as a by-product of burning fuels, in particular solid fuels. The biggest sources of PM in Northern Ireland are domestic wood and coal burning, industrial combustion and road transport. Particles from brake wear, tyre wear and road surface wear currently constitute 60% and 73% (by mass), respectively, of particulate matter emissions from road transport, and will become more dominant in the future.6 Increasingly, evidence is emerging to show that ammonia emissions
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