In Air Quality in the Uk
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Air pollution is the measurement of the amount and variability of pollutants in the air. The term “air quality” is closely related and focuses on the state of the air around us. Clean air which is free from pollutants is vital to maintaining life and keeping the environment stable. This is not just in reference to humans, but other animals, vegetation, water and soil. Poor air quality is a result of a number of factors, including emissions from various sources, both natural and human-caused. Poor air quality occurs when pollutants reach high enough concentrations to endanger human health and/or the environment. Damage to the natural environment, living organisms or the damage of the artificial environment caused from the introduction of particulates, chemicals and biological materials is considered to be air pollution.
The main pollutants covered were; Ammonia (NH3), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen oxides (NOX as NO2), Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), Sub-10 micron particulate matter (PM10), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and Lead (Pb). The data was gathered using a mixture of point source data and sub-national / local data sets such as; DECC sub-national statistics on energy use, other regional energy use data for specific industries or regional data on raw material consumption or sector-specific production, major road traffic count data, domestic and international flight data for all major UK airports, rail company fuel use estimate, regional housing, employment, population and consumption data, agricultural surveys (livestock numbers, , fertiliser application, crop production, land use survey data).
Within the UK, air quality is said to be improving on a long term basis. A report produced by consultancy AEA to help strategize air quality in the UK and highlight the European objectives. Air Quality Pollutant Inventories for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: 1990 – 2010″ uses data from a wide variety of sources to portray how emissions have fallen across the UK over the last two decades. Although the report demonstrates the increase in air quality since 1990 in the UK, it shows how key pollutant levels are higher per capita in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland than the United Kingdoms average, due to the prevalence of agriculture and heavy industry. Per capita emissions have fallen for all pollutants since 1990 to 2010. The largest decrease in percentage is in regards to lead which decreased over %90 over all the developed administrations in the United Kingdom. The report also stated that emissions per capita are lower than the UK average for all pollutants in 2010 in England. Ammonia per capita emissions in Northern Island are almost four times the UK average in 2010. This is because of the very high contribution of emissions from agriculture, in relation to the rest of the UK. Northern Ireland takes account for 11% of UK agriculture emissions, in comparison with