Air Pollution

Air Quality Overview

Air pollution is made up of a mixture of gases and particles that have been released into the atmosphere by man-made processes. Such emissions are typically from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, petrol or diesel. The sources, health effects and chemical behaviour of each separate pollutant are different, making the task of understanding and controlling air pollution as a whole very complex.

In this section you can find out what the current air pollution levels are in the District, and what the Council is doing to improve air quality locally.

The quality of the air we breathe is influenced by a great number of air pollutants, which come from a wide range of sources. It is the aim of the District Council to ensure that the air we breathe is of such a quality that it does not adversely impact on health and quality of life.  Some air pollutants, or proportions of them, are generated locally, where as others, such as Ozone are generated elsewhere and transported over long distances and therefore must be controlled nationally by central government policy and agreements between countries.

Most of the Council's work on air quality is driven by the requirements of Local Air Quality Management.  This is a statutory duty set out in The Environment Act 1995 Part IV to assess and manage local air quality.  The Act requires the Council to review the sources of pollution in its own areas, and to assess likely future concentrations of a number of pollutants. The process is divided into several stages depending on the levels of pollutants being emitted.  You can see details about the air quality review, assessment procedures and monitoring that the Council has undertaken by referring to:

Air Quality Review & Assessment Reports

There are seven different atmospheric pollutants that the Council assesses, only one nitrogen dioxide currently exceeds government limits.  For more information about nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants, please see:

Air Quality Common Pollutants and Health Effects

People using this site for research purposes or who wish to obtain further, more detailed information we hope the following links will be helpful:

Air Quality Links and Educational Researches

You may have other questions, we have tried to answer these here:

Air Quality FAQs

If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.You can submit complaints/enquiries to us on our contact form.

Last updated 04.06.2009