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

Ireland’s Environment – An Integrated Assessment 2020 Topic Box 3.2 PM 10 Levels during the Winter in Ballyfermot and Ennis Figure 3.8 shows approximate levels of PM 10 in Ballyfermot, Dublin, in the 1970s (these have been derived from black smoke measurements – AFF, 1981; Heal and Beverland, 2017), along with direct PM 10 measurements from 2010 to 2018 during the winter at Ballyfermot and Ennis. Both areas have smoky coal bans in place; the ban in Ballyfermot was introduced as part of the Dublin area ban in 1990, while the ban in Ennis was introduced in 2011. Both areas also have access to the national gas network. Currently there are 41 smoky coal ban specified areas nationally. This includes an additional 13 areas added from 1 September 2020. As can be seen from the graph, while the ban is effective in reducing concentrations of PM 10 in both areas, Ballyfermot experienced a greater overall improvement. This may reflect the difficulties in enforcing a ban in a smaller town when residents do not have to travel far to purchase smoky fuel from outside the ban area, compared with enforcing it in a large urban area such as Dublin (Goodman et al. , 2015). Figure 3.8  Actual and estimated concentrations of PM 10 in Ballyfermot and Ennis (Source: EPA) 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 Winter mean PM 10 (ug/m 3 )* Year 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Ballyfermot Ennis * Average black smoke concentrations from 1973 to 1979 have been adjusted by a factor of 1.3 to provide estimates of PM 10 levels (Heal and Beverland, 2017). Nitrogen Oxides Nitrogen oxides are gaseous pollutants associated with traffic exhaust emissions. Nitrogen oxides include the gases nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ). Both pollutants are emitted to ambient air when petrol or diesel is burned in internal combustion engines. Nitrogen dioxide is more important from an ambient air quality perspective because of its increased impact on cardiovascular and respiratory health (EEA, 2014). Internationally, epidemiological studies have shown that symptoms of bronchitis in asthmatic children increase in association with long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide. In Ireland, research has shown an association between levels of nitrogen dioxide and rates of asthma in older adults (ESRI, 2020). Reduced lung function growth is also linked to nitrogen dioxide at concentrations currently measured in cities in Europe and North America (WHO, 2018). 72