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Air Pollution.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 October 2004

Thursday, 28 October 2004

Questions (376)

Bernard J. Durkan

Question:

376 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the extent to which air pollution monitoring equipment is currently in use in or adjacent to the various towns and villages in north Kildare; if the equipment is of modern standards and capable of meeting today’s requirements; if monitors are adequately dispersed to achieve an accurate reflection of air quality in the area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26624/04]

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Written answers

Air quality assessment is a matter for the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and air quality management a matter for local authorities informed by air quality measurement data. The EPA's air quality monitoring annual report 2002, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library, contains details of all air quality monitoring stations operated by the local authorities and the EPA, including those in County Kildare. Monitoring of air pollution is also undertaken as a condition of some integrated pollution control licences issued by the agency. Information on all aspects of IPC licences is available from the EPA.

The extent to which adequate air pollution monitoring exists throughout the country and whether the technology involved is sufficiently modern and adequate to meet requirements, are matters for the relevant local authorities, and the EPA at a national level under Article 4 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (Air Quality Assessment and Management) Regulations 1999. The Air Quality Standards Regulations 2002 specify the reference methods for the sampling, analysis and measurement of concentrations of air pollutants.

The reporting and making available of information on ambient concentrations of pollutants within the scope of the 2002 regulations is the responsibility of the EPA. In addition to its annual monitoring report for 2002, the agency's website, www.epa.ie/OurEnvironment/Air, provides the public with real-time information, updated on an hourly basis, on air quality from a number of monitoring points around the country.

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