Irish people must do something about pollution from vehicle exhausts and solid fuels if they want to continue breathing clean air, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said.
A new report showed that Ireland stayed within EU limits for air quality in 2015 but vehicle emissions and solid fuels remain the main threats to good air in the country.
The EPA's report, Air Quality in Ireland 2015, showed that Ireland did not exceed any legal EU limit values in 2015 for ambient air quality at any of its 31 air quality monitoring stations.
But it also showed that particulate matter and ozone levels were above the World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline values while concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were above European Environment Agency levels.
The EPA said general air quality in Ireland was good, something it put down to our lack of large cities and the clean flow of air from the southwest.
But it said that Ireland faces a challenge to maintain this standard. “Levels of particulate matter in our air is of growing concern, especially during the winter months when people’s fuel choices can directly impact on air quality and on our health, particularly in our small towns and villages,” the agency said.
“Also in our urban areas we face potential exceedances of nitrogen dioxide limit values unless we move to clean transport choices.”
Particulate matter comes from burning solid fuels and from vehicle exhaust fumes. Particulate matter, as well as ozone, was found to be above the WHO guidelines at some of the country’s stations.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which originate from solid fuel and “back yard” burning, were also above the European Environment Agency reference level, the EPA said.
“Environmental protection and health protection are inextricably linked. We all expect that the air we breathe is clean but we cannot take this for granted. It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no safe level of air pollution,” said EPA director general Laura Burke.
“With this in mind it is time to tackle the two key issues impacting on air quality in Ireland - transport emissions in large urban areas and emissions from smoky fuels in our small towns around the country.”
