EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016 10
Executive Summary
This report is the latest in the EPA State of the Environment
series, which is published every 4 years. The report
outlines at a strategic level the current state of Ireland’s
environment. It provides an update on environmental
challenges that we face both nationally and globally. The
report adds to the range of thematic and research reports
available from the EPA that cover many of the issues
reported on in further detail. To complement this report
the EPA has developed the “Ireland’s Environment” section
on the EPA website1 which provides up-to-date online
information that includes environmental indicator data.
Environment and Health
and Wellbeing
Recognition of the Benefits of a Good Quality
Environment to Health and Wellbeing
The state of the environment can influence our
health in positive terms (e.g. amenity) but also in
negative terms, because of the risks to health posed
by pollution. Ireland’s environment is generally good, and
it can be concluded that on the whole Ireland does present
a clean, safe environment to live in. While the overall
quality of Ireland’s natural environment is “good” this has
to be qualified. There are many challenges surrounding
its protection both for now and into the future, along
with more immediate local environmental issues such as
air quality, water pollution, odours and noise that need to
be resolved. Many of these problems can be masked by
national level assessments but can have severe impacts
on the health and wellbeing of the people in individual
communities and on the quality of the local environment.
From an emerging risks perspective, we need to be
vigilant in relation to climate change-induced health risks,
antimicrobial resistance and new chemicals and substances.
It is now accepted that even low levels of air
pollution, notably from particulates (soot and dust),
can have negative health impacts. Ireland remains
fortunate to have better air quality than most countries in
Europe, but some key challenges remain. Traffic is a key
pressure on air quality and is the main cause of air quality
problems in our larger towns and cities. Local air quality,
particularly in small Irish towns with a high dependence
on coal, turf and wood for home heating, can be poor at
times. Air pollution is estimated to have contributed to
annual mortality rates which need to be addressed. Work
on the development of the Clean Air Strategy for Ireland2
should be an opportunity to highlight some of these
1
2 Lead by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and
Environment
issues, put forward policy solutions and develop a better
understanding of linkages between climate and air quality
policies. The adoption of the newer more stringent World
Health Organization guideline values for air quality into
Irish legislation as part of this process would provide an
impetus for action to protect air quality.
Radon – a naturally occurring radioactive gas – is a
risk to human health. Some of our citizens are living
in houses that may impact their health because of the
presence of radon, although they are not aware of it.
Continued resourcing of the National Radon Plan is
essential.
There are still an unacceptable number of public
drinking water supplies on long-term Boil Water
Notices and on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. Major
investments are still needed in the public water sector and
in the group water sector to make sure consumers are
protected from pollution and health risks. More also needs
to be done to highlight the risks faced by over 180,000
households which have their own private well. A multi-
barrier approach that protects the source waters from
pollution – linked with effective treatment and operation
designed to match the quality and variability of the
source water – is recommended to ensure safe and secure
drinking water.
Colour Composite Satellite Image of Ireland
(May 2015) (Source: © ESA)