EU to get protest about air pollution monitors

The environmental group Earth watch has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission over the Government's failure to bring forward legislation to improve monitoring of air quality in Irish cities.

Earthwatch claimed there was an obligation on the Department of the Environment to designate "competent authorities" to monitor air quality and to enforce strict emission limits for the most noxious urban air pollutants - nitrogen oxides, lead, particulate matter (known as PMs1]s0]) and sulphur dioxide.

"The Irish authorities have failed to enforce legislation designed to protect public health from air pollution. They have not even introduced the most basic monitoring network needed to comply with this directive," according to Earthwatch spokeswoman Ms Sadhbh O'Neill.

She added: "Air quality is deteriorating rapidly in Dublin due to rising traffic congestion, and still Dublin Corporation has not even published its draft air quality management plan."

Current limits on nitrogen oxide had been breached in the past in Dublin, while they were likely to be exceeded regularly under stricter proposed regulations, she said. This pollutant arises mainly from vehicular exhausts and is known to be a major contributor to respiratory problems.

The complaint, Ms O'Neill said, had been made because of an absence of meaningful action. "At present, air quality monitoring is shared on an ad hoc basis between the Environmental Protection Agency and local authorities, but there is no decision yet regarding which of these will be designated as competent bodies.

"Therefore, local authorities are not investing in the equipment needed for monitoring of pollutants," she told the European Commission.

Earthwatch advised the Commission to take legal action if the Irish authorities did not respond promptly with proposed legislation.

Their complaint follows publication last month of the EPA's report on air quality monitoring for 1997 which concluded: "The level of monitoring of air quality in Ireland is clearly insufficient and existing networks are in need of major review and restructuring."

The EPA also found road traffic to be the biggest threat to air quality in Irish urban areas, particularly Dublin.