Introduction:
Air Pollution
The
term "air pollution" is used to describe substances that are artificially
introduced into the air. Air pollution stems from gases and airborne particles
which, in excess, are harmful to human health, buildings and ecosystems.
Four
major impacts determine the classification of pollutants under the traditional
policy field
Air
Pollution
:
- the
acidification of soil and water by pollutants such as sulphur oxides, nitrogen
oxides and ammonia;
- the
damage to buildings sensitive to the same acidifying substances;
- the
formation of tropospheric ozone from so-called ozone precursors, e.g. volatile
organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide which indirectly affect
human and animal health and vegetation;
- direct
effects on human health and ecosystems e.g. through high atmospheric
concentrations of particles, and VOCs.
Excluded
from this chapter are emissions of CO
2,
N
2O,
CH
4
and CFCs, which are covered in the policy fields
Climate
Change
and
Ozone
Layer Depletion
.
Emissions of highly toxic substances are given special consideration under the
heading
Dispersion
of Toxic Substances
.
Although
some of these pollutants are also produced by nature, the main environmental
problems result from human activities. Air pollutants are often transported
over considerable distances, affecting air quality, ecosystems, lakes and other
surface water, groundwater, soils and buildings in adjacent and distant
countries.
The
Fifth Environmental Action Programme (5EAP) treats Air Pollution under Section
5.2: "Acidification and air quality." Public concern is focused mainly on
damage to forests and smog, though in Nordic countries emphasis is also placed
on the acidification of lakes. The main EU air directives cover emissions of SO
2
(AP-3) and NO
x
(AP-1) from large combustion plants, the sulphur contents of fossil fuels
(AP-6), and emission limits for transport vehicles (AP-5
).
Many
of these specific measures have been underpinned by the UNECE Convention on
Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, which was adopted in 1979 and signed by
35 countries, including EU Member States.
The
5EAP lists the following targets to reduce air pollution:
- SO2
emissions : reduction by 35% from 1985 levels by 2000,
- NOx
emissions : reduction by 30% from 1980 levels by 2000,
- VOC
emissions : reduction by 30% from 1990 levels by 1999.
The
following list of indicators selected by the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG)
"Air Pollution" comprises four indicators of pressure. The two "background" or
"driving force" indicators
Consumption
of petrol & diesel oil by road vehicles
and
Primary
energy consumption
represent
the major causes of these pressures.
