The European Commission has adopted nine decisions addressed to Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Greece, Spain, France, Hungary and the Slovak Republic concerning temporary exemptions in 94 zones or agglomerations from the EU's air quality standards for airborne particles known as PM 10.
Under the 2008 EU air quality Directive, Member States may, under strict conditions and for specific parts of the country, extend the time for meeting the PM 10 standard until June 2011.
Environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Air pollution from PM 10 has serious impacts on human health and compliance with the standards must be our priority. That is why EU legislation sets strict standards. Several member states failed to comply with the deadline of 2005 for meeting the standards for PM 10 and are still not in compliance. The Commission therefore expects member states to clearly demonstrate that they are doing their upmost, in the interests of their citizens, to comply with the EU standards in the shortest possible time."
The Commission's decisions
For each zone, the Commission has thoroughly assessed whether the conditions for a time extension have been met.
In 19 air quality zones in Austria, Germany and Hungary, the Commission has decided that the notified exemptions satisfy the conditions in the Directive.
In the remaining zones, the Commission considered that the conditions have not been met, in many cases because insufficient data has been provided or because the measures outlined in the air quality plans submitted to the Commission do not demonstrate that the standards will be met at the expiry of the exemption period.
The Commission's assessment has also showed that exemptions will in some cases not be necessary since compliance with the limit values has already been achieved.
Health impacts
Airborne particles (PM 10) are emitted mainly in pollutant emissions from industry, traffic and domestic heating. They can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death.
Air quality legislation
EU air quality legislation sets binding limit values and/or indicative target values for the maximum permitted concentrations of certain pollutants in the air. There are two binding air quality limit values for particulate matter (PM 10) based upon daily and annual average concentrations. These came into force on January 1, 2005.
Under the 2008 EU air quality Directive, Member States may, under strict conditions and for specific parts of the country, extend the time for meeting the PM 10 standard until June 2011.
Environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said: "Air pollution from PM 10 has serious impacts on human health and compliance with the standards must be our priority. That is why EU legislation sets strict standards. Several member states failed to comply with the deadline of 2005 for meeting the standards for PM 10 and are still not in compliance. The Commission therefore expects member states to clearly demonstrate that they are doing their upmost, in the interests of their citizens, to comply with the EU standards in the shortest possible time."
The Commission's decisions
For each zone, the Commission has thoroughly assessed whether the conditions for a time extension have been met.
In 19 air quality zones in Austria, Germany and Hungary, the Commission has decided that the notified exemptions satisfy the conditions in the Directive.
In the remaining zones, the Commission considered that the conditions have not been met, in many cases because insufficient data has been provided or because the measures outlined in the air quality plans submitted to the Commission do not demonstrate that the standards will be met at the expiry of the exemption period.
The Commission's assessment has also showed that exemptions will in some cases not be necessary since compliance with the limit values has already been achieved.
Health impacts
Airborne particles (PM 10) are emitted mainly in pollutant emissions from industry, traffic and domestic heating. They can cause asthma, cardiovascular problems, lung cancer and premature death.
Air quality legislation
EU air quality legislation sets binding limit values and/or indicative target values for the maximum permitted concentrations of certain pollutants in the air. There are two binding air quality limit values for particulate matter (PM 10) based upon daily and annual average concentrations. These came into force on January 1, 2005.
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