Air quality management areas, more commonly referred to as AQMAs, are a concept that was developed based on the air quality management policies of the United Kingdom in order to ensure that proper air quality is present within crucial sections of the country.
These policies were developed in order to protect the health of the population. In addition, there are not many references pertaining to this subject; for this reason, let’s gain some information on Air Quality Management Areas from today’s Know Your Facts segment so that you can expand your understanding. Therefore, stay tuned. Read, and enjoy!
What are the Air Quality Management Areas?
In the year 1997, local authorities in the United Kingdom started measuring and evaluating the air quality in their respective regions in order to discover and predict the behavior of air contaminants.
These assessments and measurements are being carried out in order to discover and evaluate the air quality.
The primary objective of this project is to validate the conformity of these observed or computed data with the national air quality objectives over a predetermined amount of time.
These objectives should correspond with public health and safety recommendations as well as environmental protection requirements.
According to this initiative, Air Quality Management Areas are areas that DO NOT meet these requirements and should give priority to improving regional air quality above improving the air quality in other localities.
According to the references, the size of this region could range from as little as a handful of streets to as many as a numbers of different regional areas.
In order to protect the health and safety of people in the United Kingdom and serve as a model for other European nations in terms of air quality management, the relevant authorities are now working on a project to minimize the number of Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs).
Each local region in the United Kingdom has its own set of air quality requirements that it must fulfill, and as a result, each local region in the United Kingdom has developed its own set of action plans to ensure that its air quality is maintained within a certain amount of time.
What Are the National Air Quality Objectives?
The intended levels and limitations that have been set by the United Kingdom for a chosen number of the characteristics of air pollutants are in compliance with international and national air quality standards.
Main Definition –
Air Quality Standards are concentrations measured over a particular length of time that is deemed acceptable based on what is known scientifically about the effects of each pollutant on human health and the environment. They can also be used as a baseline to determine whether or not air pollution is improving.
A period of time (determined for each standard) during which the concentration is higher than that specified in the Standard is an exceedance. In order to draw interesting comparisons amongst pollutants (the Standards may be defined in terms of different average times), it is common to give the number of days on which an exceedance was observed.
A goal is a date by which the number of exceedances of a Standard must not exceed a defined quantity.
Limit values are legally binding parameters that must not be exceeded. Limit values are set for individual pollutants and are made up of a concentration value, an averaging time over which it is to be measured, the number of exceedances allowed per year, if any, and a date by which it must be achieved. Some pollutants have more than one limit value covering different endpoints or averaging times.
Target values – are established similarly to limit values. They are to be achieved whenever possible by implementing all steps necessary that do not incur disproportionate expenditures.
National Objectives for Six Criteria Air Pollutants for the UK
Pollutant – Particulate Matter (PM 10)
a. Objective – 50 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year
b. Area – UK
c. Concentration Measured as – 24 hours Mean
d. European obligation – 50 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year
Pollutant – Particulate Matter (PM 10)
a. Objective – 40 µg/m3
b. Area – UK
c. Concentration Measured as – Annual Mean
d. European obligation – 40 µg/m3
Pollutant – Particulate Matter (PM 2.5)
a. Area – UK (Except Scotland)
b. Objective – 20 µg/m3
c. Concentration Measured as – Annual Mean
d. European obligation –
i. Stage 1 Limit 25 µg/m3
ii. Stage 2 Limit 20 µg/m3
Pollutant – Particulate Matter (PM 2.5)
a. Area – UK (Urban Areas)
b. Objective – Target of 15% reduction in concentrations at urban background
c. Concentration Measured as – Annual Mean
d. European obligation – Target of 20% reduction in concentrations at urban background
Pollutant – Nitrogen Dioxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 200 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 18 times a year
c. Concentration Measured as – 1 hour Mean
d. European obligation – 200 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 18 times a year
Pollutant – Nitrogen Dioxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 40 µg/m3
c. Concentration Measured as – Annual Mean
d. European obligation – 40 µg/m3
Pollutant – Ozone
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 100 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 10 times a year
c. Concentration Measured as – 8 hours Mean
d. European obligation – Target of 120 µg/m3 not to be exceeded by more than 25 times a year averaged over 3 years
Pollutant – Sulphur Dioxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 266 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 35 times a year
c. Concentration Measured as – 15 minutes mean
d. European obligation – –
Pollutant – Sulphur Dioxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 350 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 24 times a year
c. Concentration Measured as – 1 hour minutes mean
d. European obligation – 350 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 24 times a year
Pollutant – Sulphur Dioxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 125 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 3 times a year
c. Concentration Measured as – 24 hours mean
d. European obligation – 125 µg/m3 not to be exceeded more than 3 times a year
Pollutant – Carbon monoxide
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 10 mg/m3 Concentration
c. Measured as – maximum daily running 8 hours mean/in Scotland as running 8-hour mean
d. European obligation – 10 mg/m3 Concentration
Pollutant – Lead
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 0.5 mg/m3 Concentration
c. Measured as – Annual mean
d. European obligation – 0.5 mg/m3 Concentration
Pollutant – Lead
a. Area – UK
b. Objective – 0.25 mg/m3 Concentration
c. Measured as – Annual mean
d. European obligation – –
Reference – The United Kingdom Air Information Resource
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