EPA - Ireland's Environment 2016 - An Assessment

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Ireland’s Environment – An Assessment 2016 212
or “endanger human health”, emphasising how closely
health and environmental protection are linked. One of the
goals of the EPA’s new corporate strategy is to promote a
greater awareness of the impact of environmental quality
on human health and amenity. Actions covering this
area will be developed in co-operation with the National
Healthy Ireland Strategy, the Health Service Executive and
other stakeholders.
As explored in the Environment, Health and Wellbeing
section in Chapter 3, there is a need to understand the
dynamic interaction between the various dimensions of
our environment that can, through different modes of
exposure or experience, impact on health and wellbeing.
The three key dimensions are natural environment, built
environment and lifestyle–consumption. Policy solutions
are at the same time simple and complex, but must be
integrated completely through well thought out and cross-
departmental interventions.
There are a number of issues that require action including
air pollution, radon, drinking water contamination and
environmental nuisances caused by odour, noise or litter.
In addition, 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.
Protecting Air Quality
We should not be complacent about our air quality
in Ireland.
Reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) have
shown the impact that vehicle exhaust emissions and other
air pollutants are having on quality of life in many world
cities (WHO, 2015). Ireland remains relatively fortunate to
have better air quality than most countries in Europe, but
some key challenges remain. Air pollution is estimated to
have contributed to annual mortality rates which need
to be addressed.1,2 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, and communities
need much better local-level air quality information. It is
now accepted that even low levels of air pollution, notably
from particulates (dust), can have negative health impacts,
and plans are needed across Ireland to protect and
improve air quality by dealing with specific local pressures.
The move to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy
should also lead to better air quality, provided that there is
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2
strong regulation and control of the burning of renewable
fuels, such as wood and biomass, which in themselves
can give rise to air pollution problems. We also need
to develop a better understanding of linkages between
climate and air quality policies and be careful that there
are not unintended consequences for the environment
(i.e. not creating an environmental harm through solving a
different environmental harm). The Clean Air Strategy for
Ireland produced by the Department of Communications,
Climate Action and Environment should be an opportunity
to highlight these issues and put forward policy solutions.
The adoption of WHO 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 which also needs to be highlighted
and brought more to people’s attention. Some of our
citizens are living in houses that may be making them
sick, although they are not aware of it. Householders,
institutions and businesses need to investigate and
remediate building stock where a radon risk is determined.
Drinking Water
We need to have safe and secure supplies of drinking
water. This will require significant investment.
There has been improvement in recent years in the quality
of drinking water supplied by both public and group
schemes, but many problems remain to be tackled to
guarantee a safe and secure supply of drinking water (EPA,
2015d). There are still an unacceptable number of supplies
on long-term Boil Water Notices and on the EPA’s Remedial
Action List. Comprehensive national strategies will be
necessary to address key priorities such as disinfection,
disinfection by-products, lead, pesticides and water safety
planning.
Major investments are still needed in the public
water sector and in the group water sector to make
sure consumers are protected from risks such as
cryptosporidiosis, verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), lead and
trihalomethanes. 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, including rivers, lakes and
groundwater, 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.
Environmental Nuisance
Local action plans are needed to deal with specific
problems relating to odour, noise and litter.
Nuisance, whether this is noise, odour or litter/fly-tipping
of waste, is a threat to human health and wellbeing, as
well as to the wider environment. These three dimensions