Reporting on ambient air quality assessment in the European region, 2010 ETC/ACM Technical Paper 2012/7

09 Oct 2012

Iulian Petchesi

with List of zones in relation to air quality standards (Annex IV)

In 2010 the percentage of zones in Member States where the limit or target value was exceeded was highest for the daily limit value of PM10 (36%) and the health-related target value of O3 (34%). For the NO2 annual limit value this percentage was 33%. Compared to 2009, the percentage of zones in exceedance of both the PM10 daily limit value and PM10 annual limit value is about the same in 2010.

The number of PM2.5 monitoring stations had still increased in 2010; nearly all stations also reported data under the Exchange of Information Decision. The designation of stations used for the calculation of the averaged exposure indicator (AEI) is far from complete. The number of (sub)urban background stations is in line with the requirements for determining the AEI. However, at present, the representativeness of the stations for estimating population exposure cannot be judged. Estimates of the exposure concentration obligation (based on all available operational (sub)urban background stations in AirBase) results in levels of more than 20 μg/m3 in 8 Member States.

The zones designated for pollutants having a health related limit or target value is nearly complete for SO2, NO2 and PM as the zones cover 90% or more of the population. For lead, benzene, CO and ozone population coverage is still less: in a number of Member States less than 80%. The situation with respect to the Fourth Daughter Directive reporting has further improved in 2009.

With respect to the annual NO2 limit value, the number, population and area of zones where the limit value is exceeded, hardly change over the years. Meeting the limit value remains a problem in about 65% of the agglomerations and in about 23% of the non-agglomerations. Compliance with the PM10 daily limit value is improving in the urban agglomerations, as the percentage of agglomerations being in non-attainment has changed from 80% in 2006 to 40% in 2010. Moreover, in the more rural non-agglomerations a strong improvement is observed in 2007 compared to 2006. In contrast to the situation in agglomerations which shows a continuously downward tendency, no further improvement is seen in non-agglomeration zones during the more recent years. For ozone, the situation is improving since 2006, although in 2009 an increase in the area of non-attainment agglomerations is noted.

Prepared by: Benno Jimmink, Frank de Leeuw (RIVM); Jana Ostatnická, Markéta Schreiberová, Linton Corbet (CHMI).

Published by: ETC/ACM, September 2012, 54 pp.