Air Pollution
Causes
The major threat to clean air is from traffic emissions. Petrol and diesel vehicles emit a wide variety of pollutants, principally carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, volatile organic compounds and particulates, which have an increasing impact on urban air quality.
In addition, sunlight reacting with nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds from vehicles leads to the formation of ozone, a secondary long-range pollutant, which affects rural areas often far from the original emission site.
Acid rain is another long-range pollutant influenced by vehicle nitrogen oxides emissions. Most industrial and domestic pollutant sources tend to remain the same or gradually improve over time, together with their impact on air quality. Only in extreme cases does a business cause serious problems to local air quality. However, traffic pollution problems are worsening world-wide.
Legal standards play a major role in combating air pollution. We enforce the law and implement proactive regimes of pollution prevention control and Local Air Quality Management. We also have wide ranging powers to deal with everyday issues such as smoke and fume nuisance.
We also deal with radon gas, a naturally occurring air pollutant.
You can submit complaints/enquiries to us on our contact form.
Reviewed 20th December 2007
