EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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Individual Choices
Areas where we can take action ourselves and make
healthier and more sustainable choices.
At an individual level, our choices influence our health
and that of our family and neighbours. Choices such as
the fuel we use, the water we drink, how we manage
our waste, the chemicals we use in our homes and
gardens, household ventilation, the noise we create, etc.,
demonstrate our values and attitudes to our environment,
community, health and wellbeing. The collaborative public
information resource gives advice and
tips on how we can take action to make healthier and
more sustainable choices.
The EPA hosts an online resource called “Live Green –
Small Changes, Big Difference” for householders and
families, which contains tips, advice and guidance on
a range of environmental and health matters across
the following household themes:
n health and community projects
n water conservation
n waste prevention
n energy efficiency.
Living green means making small changes at home or
in our communities. In turn, living green can make a
big difference to our wellbeing, helping people to live
a more sustainable lifestyle. Visit to
find out more.
Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016 128
Regulation and Policy
Environment, health and wellbeing is recognised as a
fundamental and complex cross-cutting policy topic.
Concern for avoiding disease threats and fostering
improvements in health and wellbeing has traditionally
underlain much of the political priority given to
environmental issues within the EU and the Member States.
It is one of the primary drivers for policy actions that target
air quality, water quality, soil quality and chemical use.
Within Ireland, environment and health is an area of growing
public interest and involves a large number of organisations
from both health (e.g. Department of Health, HSE, the
Health Research Board and the Institute of Public Health) and
environmental (e.g. various government departments, the
EPA, local authorities) perspectives. Under its environmental
protection mandate, the EPA delivers direct and indirect
benefits to human health through a number of its
responsibilities. These include controlling harmful substances,
as well as emissions from licensed facilities; maintaining a
supervisory function with regard to the provision of safe and
secure drinking water; bathing water reporting; research;
and monitoring ambient air quality. The EPA’s Health
Advisory Committee brings representatives from public
health authorities together to advise the EPA on carrying out
its functions in the context of health protection.
To further strengthen health protection and foster wellbeing,
the concept of health assessment has emerged as a
component of Environmental Impact Assessment. Through
this process, the potential health effects of a development
on the local population are considered – in terms of both
positive and negative impacts. Such assessments combine
evidence from research and monitoring with independent
expert opinion to provide a clear understanding of
potential direct and indirect health impacts, and to identify
adjustments to mitigate future problems.
Clean Air and Health
The air pollution problems affecting cities in Europe
are resulting in premature deaths.
Across Europe (including Ireland), the most overtly
problematic pollutants causing disease in humans are
particulate matter (PM), ground-level ozone (O 3) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO 2). However, despite considerable
improvements in past decades, Europe’s air pollution
problem is far from solved and is still responsible for
over 432,000 premature deaths each year (EEA, 2015).
Worldwide, the World Health Organization (WHO)3
estimates that some 80% of outdoor air pollution-related
premature deaths are due to heart disease and strokes,
while 14% of deaths are due to chronic obstructive
3