Vol. 448 No. 5
67 Mr. B. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment in view of the policy of reducing lead in petrol and the increase in the levels of benzene in urban air, presumably from unleaded fuels, the measures, if any, he proposes to take to conduct a national survey to determine the extent of the problem; and the measures, if any, he intends to implement to deal with this environmental health risk. [2385/95]
Co-ordination of environmental monitoring is a function of the Environmental Protection Agency, which is currently preparing a national monitoring programme.
Ireland is co-operating, in the context of a proposed new framework directive on air quality, in EU work aimed at defining a new range and set of methodologies for air pollution monitoring. The range of pollutants under consideration includes lead and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, of which benzene is one. The Environmental Protection Agency is keeping abreast of progress on this proposal.
