EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 11: Environment and Transport Impacts of Air Pollutants on the Quality of Air We Breathe Air pollutants have damaging effects on the environment and human health. The impact of air pollutants on health and the environment is covered in more detail in Chapter 3 and Chapter 14. The major pollutants of concern from transport are nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter; transport is the main source of nitrogen dioxide. Nitrogen dioxide can become particularly troublesome where pollution becomes concentrated, in urban areas and near transport networks, and for those with vulnerable health status. The EPA monitors a range of other air pollutants in line with the EU air quality directives. In its annual Air Quality in Ireland reports, the EPA compares Irish air quality both with EU legal limit values and with World Health Organization guideline values. In Ireland, road transport is the largest source of carbon monoxide, copper, zinc and black carbon emissions. It is also a significant source of coarse particulate matter (PM 10 ), lead, mercury and chromium emissions. The EPA’s most recent Air Quality in Ireland report highlighted an exceedance of the EU annual average legal limit values in 2019 at one urban traffic station in Dublin, due to pollution from transport (EPA, 2020e). Public concern about the negative impacts of air pollution from transport is rising (EEA, 2019b), with poor air quality linked to serious health implications, both short term (acute temporary complaints such as headache, breathing difficulty or eye irritation) and long term (chronic ongoing conditions including asthma, reduced liver function and cardiovascular disease) (EPA, 2019). Ever-expanding research is demonstrating links to even wider impacts on human health such as on cognitive development (Zhang et al. , 2018) and mental health (Braithwaite et al. , 2019). Recent Irish research has shown the negative health impacts on the Irish public (Carthy et al. , 2020; Quintyne et al. , 2020). This is particularly important for more vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women. Recognising the considerable impact of transport air pollution on human health and ecosystems, while some progress has been made, the European Environment Agency notes that its continuing contribution to poor air quality requires systemic changes in how we transport people and goods, rather than relying on efficiency measures alone (EEA, 2019a). Noise Noise from transport networks is the most widespread source of environmental noise exposure in Ireland. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region (WHO, 2018). This established how noise pollution in our towns and cities is increasing, and how excessive noise particularly from transport sources is a health risk, with effects on sleep, cardiovascular and metabolic function, in addition to the nuisance caused. In Ireland, the expansion of the national road infrastructure has led to increased transport activity, and thus continuing this pattern is likely to lead to increasing noise exposure. Noise modelling carried out in Ireland during 2017 estimates that 15.6 per cent of the population are exposed to noise levels above 55 dB L den , with more than 90 per cent of this exposure attributable to road traffic noise (EEA, 2019a). The WHO has recommended daytime noise levels from road traffic of 53 dB L den , and night-time levels of 45 dB L night as the thresholds above which adverse health effects can start to occur, (WHO, 2018). A transport system that promotes increased road usage, and the private car in particular, is likely to lead to increasing noise exposure levels, even with a larger numbers of electric vehicles. Technical measures for reduction of noise exposure have their limitations, so reducing demand and encouraging major modal shifts to walking, cycling and public transport should be the long- term goal. It will also be important as we move to more integrated spatial and transport planning, that ‘quiet areas’ continue to be protected (see Chapter 4 for more details). Other Environmental Pressures Transport sources drive a range of other environmental impacts. Road transport expansion is associated with urban sprawl. The related land-take and habitat fragmentation have impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services and habitat resilience. The sealing of surfaces can increase run-off during high-precipitation events. There are also growing adaptation challenges for management of the impacts of climate disruption. In recent years, both central and local governments have begun building resilience to climate change through transport adaptation planning. EPA research in the Methodologies for Financing and Costing of Climate Impacts and Future Adaptation Actions (TACT) project 1 considers the potential vulnerability of national transport infrastructure to increasing extreme weather events. Management of environmental pressures by local authorities and state agencies is necessary, but, in addition to this environmental protection, there is also a pressing need for integrated strategic long-term policy at the national level, to prevent and minimise the variety of environmental pressures. 1 The project, funded by the EPA, ran from 2018 until 2020. See http://erc.epa.ie/smartsimple/displayProject. php?projectCode=2018-CCRP-DS.13. 285