asked the Minister for the Environment, in respect of each year since 1980 up to the most recent available data, if he will give details of (1) the number of days on which air quality in Dublin fell short of EC standards and (2) the number of consecutive days on which air quality in Dublin fell short of EC standards; and if he will make a statement on air quality analysis in Dublin over the past eight years.
Written Answers. - Dublin Air Quality.
104.
The limit values for smoke and sulphur dioxide contained in Directive 80/779/EEC and the associated air quality standards prescribed in the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Air Quality Standards) Regulations 1987 (S.I. No. 244 of 1987) are not so structured that a single daily value can by itself represent a breach of them. Instead, these standards involve the annual median and the 98 percentile of daily values obtained throughout the year, as well as the median of daily values obtained during the winter period. In addition, the directive and the regulations require that certain daily concentrations of smoke and sulphur dioxide should not be exceeded for more than three consecutive days.
The standards for sulphur dioxide have been fully observed in Ireland since the directive came into force in 1983. In the Dublin area, which has been notified to the EC Commission in accordance with the directive as a zone in which a longer period will be required to achieve compliance with the smoke standards, breaches of these standards have been recorded within the monitoring network as follows:—
|
Station Exceeding |
||||
|
98 percentile of daily values (year) |
Daily value exceeded for more than 3 consecutive days |
Median of daily values (year) |
Median of daily values (winter) |
|
|
(250 ug/m) |
(250 ug/m³) |
(80 ug/m³) |
130 ug/m ³) |
|
|
1983/84 |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
|
|
Cabra |
||||
|
Cornmarket |
Nil |
|||
|
Dame Street |
||||
|
Rathmines |
||||
|
1984/85 |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
||
|
Cabra |
||||
|
Cornmarket |
Cornmarket |
Nil |
Nil |
|
|
East Wall |
||||
|
Mountjoy Sq. |
Mountjoy Sq. |
|||
|
Rathmines |
Rathmines |
|||
|
1985/86 |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
|
|
Crumlin |
Nil |
|||
|
Rathmines |
||||
|
1986/87 |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
Ballyfermot |
|
Bluebell |
||||
|
Cabra |
||||
|
Clondalkin |
||||
|
Herbert St. |
Herbert St. |
|||
|
Mountjoy Sq. |
Mountjoy Sq. |
|||
|
Old County Rd. |
Old County Rd. |
|||
|
South Quays |