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EU considers raising air quality standards
Environment commissioner signals that bar to combat poor air quality could be raised further as UK waits on request for more time. Europe is considering tightening air quality standards following the latest analysis of the impact of air pollution on people’s health, it emerged at the end of January 2011. Janez Potočnik, the European environment commissioner, signalled that the bar to combat poor air quality could be raised further as he prepares his decision on whether to grant the UK government an extension on meeting an existing directive on dangerous airborne particles, known as PM10s. He said the “serious question” now being considered was whether these agreed standards should be strengthened because of new analysis provided by the World Health Organisation. The minute particles are emitted by traffic and from factories and could cause heart attacks, strokes, asthma and lung diseases.
The UK remains in breach of the limits for PM10s, which came into effect at the end of 2004, because of hotspots in London, prompting a second and final written warning from the European Commission last year to clean up or be taken to the European court of justice where it could be fined up to £300m. For more info see The Guardian, Friday 28 January 2011, see:
