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Chapter 2: Air Quality and Transboundary Air Emissions
Air Quality and
Transboundary Air Emissions
Introduction
Ireland’s air quality currently is good, relative to other
EU Member States, but maintaining this standard is a
growing challenge. While monitoring stations show that
Ireland continues to meet all EU air quality standards,
localised air quality issues do arise. Ireland’s good air
quality is largely thanks to the prevailing clean Atlantic air
and the absence of large cities and heavy industry.
In Ireland, air quality has improved significantly over
the decades through a number of policy measures at
European and national level. The introduction of the
smoky coal ban in Dublin in 1990 is a good example of
a national policy that led to significant improvements
regionally and locally. The phasing out of lead in petrol
and improved vehicle emission standards and technologies
(where legitimately delivered) are examples of European
policy changes that have been aimed at improving the air
we breathe.
However, in urban areas such as Dublin and Cork, levels of
nitrogen dioxide are close to the specified EU limit values
for air quality as a result of exhaust emissions from vehicles.
Levels of particulate matter (PM) in smaller towns that do
not have a smoky coal ban can also be high, sometimes
higher than in towns where such a ban is in place.
Vehicle and residential heating emissions also contribute
to a higher concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
in the atmosphere. This is a global issue which is covered
in several sections of this report: the transport sector is
covered in more detail in Chapter 10 and the health issues
associated with air pollution are highlighted in Chapter 8.
Policy action to tackle air quality issues associated with
vehicle and residential heating emissions will have
co‑benefits for GHG mitigation.
Ireland faces many challenges in order to meet new
air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM
2.5
)
concentrations by 2020. Concentrations of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) also show a concerning
trend in Ireland, with the major source being residential
combustion of solid fuel. This chapter makes reference
to the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality
guidelines for particulate matter (PM
10
), ozone, nitrogen
dioxide and sulphur dioxide (WHO, 2005); and also to the
WHO air quality guidelines update, which includes PM
2.5
(Krzyzanowski and Cohen, 2008). These guidelines were
developed by the WHO to inform policymakers and provide
appropriate air quality targets worldwide, based on the
latest health information available. When the updated
WHO health based standards (for PM
2.5
) are applied, a
significantly higher proportion of the urban population are
classed as being exposed to harmful levels of air pollution
(EEA, 2014). Ireland should adopt these stricter WHO
values, particularly for particulate matter and ozone, as
with the increased understanding of the science of air
quality and its impact on health has come the realisation
that compliance with EU air quality limit values is not
enough to protect the health of Irish from the negative
effects of poor air quality (WHO, 2016).
A key part of the approach to tackling these issues is
better engagement with the public on the topic of air
quality. The first step in this process is an increased access
to air quality data and information. This is highlighted
in the EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring
Programme (AAMP) which proposes three main pillars
along with under-pinning supporting actions including, a
greatly expanded national monitoring network, increased
modelling and forecasting capability and an increase in
citizen engagement.