2006 Annual member States reporting on ambient air quality assessment - 'The Questionnaire'

Sixty percent of the EU27 population lives in zones were the daily PM₁₀ limit value is being exceeded. For nitrogen dioxide (annual limit value) and ozone (8-hour maximum health target value), the percentages are 50 and 46 percent of the population. According to Member States assessments, local traffic is the main contributor to air pollution.

Is the air quality getting any better?

Compared with the 2005 reporting year, the 2006 results show a slight increase (1%) in the number of zones with PM₁₀ exceedances and a somewhat higher increase (5%) in zones with O₃ exceedances. The preliminary 2007 report shows similar results for the exceedance of air quality health standards for PM₁₀, NO₂ and ozone.

It should be noted, however, due to the dynamic zoning in the Member States, from year to year, that the uncertainties related to a trend analysis are relatively high. Meteorology introduces additional uncertainty in trend analyses. The decrease in the emission of air pollutants as a result of policy, is not yet reflected in observed improvements in air quality, particularly for PM₁₀ and Ozone.

These are the main findings of two reports, prepared by the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (ETC/ACC): ‘2006 Reporting on ambient air quality assessment’ and ‘preliminary results for 2007’. Both reports were financed by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Table: Exceedances of European limit values in the EU27, 2006
Component	zones	population	area
PM₁₀ (daily average)	45%	63%	35%
NO2 (yearly average)	25%	50%	23%
O₃ (hourly average)	39%	46%	42%
PM₁₀ (yearly average)	20%	30%	13%
SO₂ (daily average)	6%	18%	5%
Benzene	3%	5%	4%
NO₂ (hourly average)	2%	4%	0,9%
SO₂ (hourly average)	2%	3%	3%
CO	0,6%	1,2%	0,9%
Lead	0,1%	0,3%	0,9%

EU ambient air quality legislation sets limit values and target values, with the objective of limiting the adverse effects of air pollution on human health and the environment. Since 2001, Member States report on the air quality in designated zones, by comparing it to these EU air quality objectives.

Further information

Authors

Vixseboxse E, De Leeuw FAAM

Specifications

Publication title: 2006 Annual member States reporting on ambient air quality assessment - 'The Questionnaire'
Publication date: 17 December 2008
Publication type: Publication
Publication language: English
Product number: 92322