Allowing heavy traffic, including large goods vehicles, to plough through congested streets is taking a heavy toll on city air quality, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report.
"Available data from Dublin and Cork suggest the achievement of recently adopted EU standards for fine particulate matter (PM to the power of 10) and nitrogen dioxide may present a challenge for the future," warns the EPA report on 1998 air quality statistics.
PM to the power of 10) are fine particles that can travel deep into lungs and cause respiratory disease, including asthma and cancer. They are emitted from exhausts, particularly in diesel fumes, but can also come from brake and tyre wear.
In Dublin, four monitoring stations indicating high concentrations of PM to the power of 10) "are probably influenced by the large numbers of heavy good vehicles" passing city centre monitoring stations en route to and from Dublin port, it notes.
Other indications, nonetheless, suggest there are already high background levels of this pollutant from traffic in the capital.
At College Street, the annual mean PM to the power of 10) level was 49 micrograms per m (to the power of 3) and daily values exceeded the new EU 24-hour limit of 50 micrograms per m (to the power of 3) on about 40 per cent of days in the year - this limit will be mandatory from 2005.
Shortcomings in monitoring noted in the report include insufficient information on the levels of nitrogen oxides and poor equipment. Figures for monitoring these pollutants at College Street had to be excluded because of technical difficulties.
The urgent need for improved air quality monitoring was underlined by the report's author, Mr Michael McGettigan. "This is imperative in the light of national needs, the changing nature of air pollution problems, and the increased volume of legislation from the European Commission."
The full text of the EPA's Annual Air Quality Report for 1998 is available at The Irish Times website:
www.ireland.com/newspaper/special