Air
Ambient Air Quality
Air quality is an issue of concern for all of us. Healthy people do not normally notice any effects from air pollution, except occasionally when levels increase due to weather or traffic conditions. If so some people may get eye irritation and start to cough with breathing becoming uncomfortable.
Effects
The effects of poor air quality on health increase gradually as pollution levels rise. However for those with lung or heart conditions such as bronchitis or emphysema the effects of poor air quality can be serious. Daily changes in air quality trigger increased admissions to hospital and contribute to the premature death of those who are seriously ill.
Types of Pollutants
Benzene is a hydrocarbon that comes almost entirely from vehicle exhausts.
1,3-Butadiene also comes almost exclusively from vehicle exhausts.
Carbon monoxide is the product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
Lead was used as a petrol additive, however with the phasing out of this fuel in 2000, ambient concentrations have now dropped significantly.
Nitrogen dioxide is formed whenever fossil fuels are burnt in air. The main source in Winchester is from motor vehicle exhausts.
Ozone in the upper atmosphere is essential to protect the earth from harmful ultraviolet light. However at high levels near the ground this gas can irritate the airways of the lungs. It is formed as a secondary pollutant i.e. by the reaction of other pollutants with each other.
Sulphur dioxide is mainly produced during the burning of coal and oil.
Particles or PM10 are small airborne particles that can penetrate deep into the lung. They come from many sources including sea salt, wind blown soil, combustion processes and droplet formation in the atmosphere. However, with Winchester town centre the main primary source is from combustion processes and especially diesel engines.
Further information on these pollutants can be found in the National Air Quality Strategy that can be downloaded from the DEFRA air quality website
Monitoring in Winchester
We have two real time air quality monitoring stations in Winchester town centre. These consist of a background site at Lawn Street near Friarsgate (Nitrogen dioxide and Particles) and a roadside site in St Georges Street (Nitrogen dioxide, Carbon monoxide and particles). We also have over forty nitrogen dioxide diffusion tubes monitoring air quality across both the town centre and the district. In addition we have recently installed several lamppost mounted devices measuring particle levels at three other locations within the town centre. Data from all our real time monitoring sites is shown on public displays in our main City office reception, Friarsgate car park office and at Montisfont Court belonging to Hampshire County Council. Results from all our monitoring is available upon request and a summary of last years results is included on this page (see documents).
Information on air quality at a national level can be downloaded from the National Air Quality Information Archive. This includes a prediction for air quality over the next 24 hours.
Air Quality in Winchester Town Centre
Since the implementation of Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 all local authorities have been under a duty to review air quality within their district. The current objectives that have to be met are prescribed under the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 (as amended). It is a requirement that each local authority conducts a formal staged review of air quality within its district in accordance with a comprehensive set of guidance documents. These reports are then sent to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for approval. Where compliance with such objectives is unlikely then the local authority has to declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). Further information on this procedure, including all the guidance documents, can be found on the DEFRA air quality web page.
Having completed these assessments an AQMA was declared in November 2003 for Winchester Town Centre for both the nitrogen dioxide annual mean and the particles 24 hour mean air quality objectives. To down load a map of the AQMA see the documents menu on this page. An Informal Member/Officer Working Group has been meeting regularly since the declaration of the AQMA. The group has reviewed and prioritised all possible actions in accordance with comprehensive guidance documents issued by DEFRA, producing a draft Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) in December 2004. Following a comprehensive consultation exercise we then produced a revised draft version of our AQAP that was sent to DEFRA for comment.
The final version of this action plan has now been produced and approved by DEFRA. This version ensures compatability with Hampshire County Council's Local Transport Policy for 2006 to 2011 and addresses comments made by DEFRA on the submitted draft. This is a large document so has been split into Chapters for downloading at the bottom of this page. The content of each chapter is explained below, chapter 5 provides a useful summary matrix of the actions being proposed.
1.0 INTRODUCTION - THE NEED FOR AN AIR QUALITY ACTION PLAN
2.0 THE AQAP IN THE CONTEXT OF OTHER PLANS, POLICIES & STRATEGIES
3.0 ACTIONS TO REDUCE EMISSIONS
4.0 MONITORING AND EVALUATION WITHIN AQMA
5.0 RESPONSIBILITES FOR INITIATIVES AND ACTIONS
6.0 CONSULTATION
7.0 IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE PLAN
Appendices
1.0 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
2.0 TERMINOLOGY
3.0 ORGANISATIONS CONSULTED ON DRAFT AQAP
4.0 TECHNICAL DISPERSION MODELLING - IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Many of these actions will require the support of other organisations. The most important of these being Hampshire County Council, who as the local Highway Authority supports this plan.
The latest report is the Air Quality Progress Report 2007. This can be downloaded from the bottom of this web page.
In this section:
Bonfires
This information provides advice on how to avoid nuisance caused by smoke from bonfires
05/07/2006
Dark Smoke and Clean Air Act
Subject to some exemptions, the emission of dark smoke from industrial or trade premises is prohibited.
04/07/2006
Odours
We deal with many complaints about odours arising from a variety of sources. This page provides advice on the legislation controlling odour nuisances.
04/07/2006
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