Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment For
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Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment Of Air Quality for Braintree District Council April 2006 Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment Braintree District Council Acknowledgements The Environmental Research Group of King’s College London compiled this report with the assistance of officers from Braintree District Council’s Environmental Protection section and also Clare Alexander, Air Quality Policy Officer, from Essex County Council and secretary of the Essex Air Quality Consortium. King’s College were appointed by the Essex Air Quality Consortium for the purpose of producing an updating and screening assessment report of local air quality as required by DEFRA for a majority of Essex local authorities. 2 Environmental Research Group, King’s College London Braintree District Council Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment Executive Summary The role of the local authority review and assessment process is to identify the areas where it is considered that the government’s air quality objectives will be exceeded. The Braintree District Council has previously undertaken the earlier rounds of review and assessment (R&A) of local air quality management and not identified any areas where these objectives might be exceeded and there is relevant public exposure. This report concerns the third round Updating and Screening Assessment. Local authorities are required to review and assess air quality against the objectives in the Air Quality Regulations 2000 and the amendment regulations as part of a rolling three-year cycle ending in 2010. The air quality objectives to be assessed are for the following seven pollutants: carbon monoxide, benzene, 1,3- butadiene, lead, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particles (PM10). This report provides a new assessment to identify those matters that have changed since the last review and assessment, and which might lead to a risk of the objective being exceeded. The report follows the prescribed guidance given in technical guidance LAQM. TG (03) and additional advice provided by DEFRA (as Frequently Asked Questions) for the purposes of this round of R&A. This includes guidance on the use of background pollutant concentrations, monitoring results, industrial sources, and road traffic. The guidance also requires both a phased approach and that local authorities only undertake a level of assessment that is commensurate with the risk of an air quality objective being exceeded. The report identifies that: For carbon monoxide, benzene, 1,3-butadiene, lead, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and particles PM10 (for 2004 only) the risk of the objectives being exceeded is not significant in the Council’s area. For PM10 (for 2010 only) there is a risk of the objectives being exceeded across parts of the district. The Council however is not required to undertake actions at this time in respect of this finding, other than to note it for longer term planning purposes. The LAQM guidance requires the Council to produce its next annual air quality progress reports by the end of April 2007, prior to undertaking another updating and screening assessment by the end of April 2009. Environmental Research Group, King’s College London 3 Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment Braintree District Council This page has been left blank intentionally. 4 Environmental Research Group, King’s College London Braintree District Council Third Round Updating and Screening Assessment CONTENTS Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 2 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 3 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Third Round Review and Assessment ..................................................................................... 9 1.3 Progress with Local Air Quality Management – Braintree District Council............................. 10 1.4 Updating Screening and Assessment – important considerations ......................................... 10 Monitoring Data ........................................................................................................................... 10 Background Pollutant Concentrations ..................................................................................... 10 Industrial Sources ....................................................................................................................... 11 Road Traffic .............................................................................................................................. 11 1.5 Relevant exposure .................................................................................................................. 11 2. Carbon Monoxide ....................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 13 2.2 National Perspective ............................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Third round assessment of CO ............................................................................................... 13 2.4 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 14 2.5 Very busy roads or junctions in built up areas ........................................................................ 15 2.6 Conclusion of third round assessment of CO ......................................................................... 15 3. Benzene ..................................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 17 3.2 National Perspective ............................................................................................................... 17 3.3 Third round assessment of Benzene ...................................................................................... 17 3.4 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 18 3.5 Very busy roads or junctions in built up areas ........................................................................ 19 3.6 Industrial sources .................................................................................................................... 19 3.7 Petrol stations ......................................................................................................................... 19 3.8 Conclusion of third round assessment of benzene ................................................................ 19 4. 1,3 Butadiene ............................................................................................................................. 21 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 21 4.2 National Perspective ............................................................................................................... 21 4.3 Third round assessment of 1,3 butadiene .............................................................................. 21 4.4 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 21 4.5 Industrial sources .................................................................................................................... 22 4.6 Conclusion of third round assessment of 1,3 butadiene ........................................................ 22 5. Lead............................................................................................................................................ 23 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 23 5.2 National Perspective ............................................................................................................... 23 5.3 Third round assessment of lead ............................................................................................. 23 5.4 Monitoring ............................................................................................................................... 24 5.5 Industrial sources .................................................................................................................... 24 5.6 Conclusion of third round assessment of lead ....................................................................... 24 6. Nitrogen Dioxide ......................................................................................................................... 25 6.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 25 6.2 National Perspective ..............................................................................................................