The Air Quality Limit Values Regulations 2003
| Year | 2003 |
2003 No. 2121
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
The Air Quality Limit Values Regulations 2003
Made 13th August 2003
Laid before Parliament 14th August 2003
Coming into force 9th September 2003
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon her by subsection (2) of section 2 of the European Communities Act 19721, being a Minister designated2for the purpose of that subsection in relation to the control of air pollution, hereby makes the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Air Quality Limit Values Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 9th September 2003.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), these Regulations shall apply to England.
(3) Regulation 13, and the remainder of these Regulations in so far as they relate to regulation 13, shall apply to the United Kingdom.
Definitions
2. In these Regulations—
“agglomeration” means a zone with a population concentration in excess of 250,000 inhabitants, or, where the population concentration is 250,000 inhabitants or less, a population density per km2 for which the Secretary of State considers that the need for ambient air to be assessed or managed is justified;
“alert threshold” has the meaning given in regulations 10(2) and (3);
“ambient air” means outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding work places;
“assessment” means any method used to measure, calculate, predict or estimate the level of a relevant pollutant, ozone or ozone precursor substances in the ambient air;
“fixed measurements” means measurements taken at fixed sites either continuously or by random sampling, the number of measurements being sufficiently large to enable the levels observed to be determined;
“information threshold” has the meaning given in regulation 10(3);
“level” means the concentration of a relevant pollutant, ozone or ozone precursor substances in ambient air;
“limit value” has the meaning given in regulation 4(1);
“long-term objective” has the meaning given in regulation 5(3);
“lower assessment threshold” has the meaning given in regulation 7(8);
“natural events” means volcanic eruptions, seismic activities, geothermal activities, wild-land fires, high-wind events or the atmospheric resuspension or transport of natural particles from dry regions;
“oxides of nitrogen” means the sum of nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide added as parts per billion and expressed as nitrogen dioxide in microgrammes per cubic metre;
“ozone precursor substances” means substances which contribute to the formation of ground level ozone, including those listed in Schedule 6;
“PM2.5” means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 2.5 µm aerodynamic diameter;
“PM10” means particulate matter which passes through a size-selective inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 µm aerodynamic diameter;
“public” has the meaning given in regulation 16(15);
“relevant pollutants” means sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, lead, benzene and carbon monoxide;
“rural background station” shall be interpreted in accordance with Part II of Schedule 4;
“target value” has the meaning given in regulation 5(2);
“upper assessment threshold” has the meaning given in regulation 7(8);
“volatile organic compounds” or “VOC” means all organic compounds from anthropogenic and biogenic sources, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reaction with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight; and
“zone” means a part of the territory of England shown on a map published by the Secretary of State on 19th January 2001, deposited at the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Ashdown House, 123 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6DE and displayed on the Department’s website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment.
Designation of competent authority
3. The Secretary of State is designated as the competent authority for the purposes of article 3 (implementation and responsibilities) of Council Directive 96/62/ECon ambient air quality assessment and management3.
Duty to ensure compliance with limit values
4.—(1) The Secretary of State shall take the measures necessary to ensure that throughout England, in each zone, concentrations of relevant pollutants in ambient air, as assessed in accordance with regulations 6 to 9, do not exceed the limit values set out in Schedule 1 from the dates specified in that Schedule.
(2) The measures taken shall—
(a)
(a) take into account an integrated approach to the protection of air, water and soil;
(b)
(b) not contravene Community legislation on the protection of safety and health of workers at work; and
(c)
(c) have no significant negative effects on the environment in the other Member States.
Target values and long-term objectives for ozone
5.—(1) The definitions and provisions on interpretation in Part I of Schedule 2 shall apply in the interpretation of the other parts of that Schedule.
(2) The target values for ozone concentrations in ambient air are set out in Part II of Schedule 2.
(3) The long-term objectives for ozone concentrations in ambient air are set out in Part III of Schedule 2.
Assessment of ambient air quality
6. The Secretary of State shall ensure that ambient air quality is assessed in each zone in relation to each of the relevant pollutants, ozone and ozone precursor substances in accordance with regulations 7 to 9.
Classification of zones
7.—(1) The Secretary of State shall, in accordance with paragraphs (3), (4) and (7), classify each zone in relation to each of the relevant pollutants according to whether ambient air quality in that zone for that pollutant is required to be assessed by—
(a)
(a) measurements;
(b)
(b) a combination of measurements and modelling techniques; or
(c)
(c) by the sole use of modelling or objective estimation techniques.
(2) The Secretary of State shall, in accordance with paragraphs (5) and (6), classify each zone in relation to ozone according to whether ambient air quality for ozone is required to be assessed by—
(a)
(a) fixed continuous measurement; or
(b)
(b) a combination of measurement campaigns of short duration and results from emission inventories and modelling.
(3) Measurements must be used to assess ambient air quality in relation to a relevant pollutant in a zone if—
(a)
(a) the zone is an agglomeration;
(b)
(b) the levels of that pollutant in the zone are between the relevant limit value and upper assessment threshold; or
(c)
(c) the levels of that pollutant in the zone exceed the limit value for that pollutant.
(4) A combination of measurements and modelling techniques may be used to assess ambient air quality in any zone in relation to a relevant pollutant where the levels of that pollutant over a representative period are below the relevant upper assessment threshold.
(5) Fixed continuous measurement must be used to assess ambient air quality in relation to ozone if within the last five years concentrations of ozone in that zone have exceeded a long-term objective.
(6) A combination of measurement campaigns of short duration and results from emissions inventories and modelling may be used to assess ambient air quality in relation to ozone in a zone if fewer than five years' data are available to determine exceedances.
(7) Where the levels of a relevant pollutant in any zone over a representative period are below the relevant lower assessment threshold, the sole use of modelling or objective estimation techniques for assessing levels of that pollutant is permissible unless—
(a)
(a) the zone is an agglomeration; and
(b)
(b) the pollutant is sulphur dioxide or nitrogen dioxide.
(8) The upper and lower assessment thresholds for the relevant pollutants are set out in Part I of Schedule 3.
(9) Where a zone is classified in relation to a pollutant under paragraph (1)(a), modelling techniques may be used for supplementing the measurements taken in order to provide an adequate level of information on ambient air quality in relation to a relevant pollutant in the zone.
(10) The Secretary of State may also designate a zone classified under this regulation in relation to a relevant pollutant as follows.
(11) Where the relevant pollutant is sulphur dioxide, the zone may be designated under this paragraph if the limit value is exceeded in the zone owing to concentrations of sulphur dioxide in ambient air due to natural sources.
(12) Where the relevant pollutant is PM10, the zone may be designated—
(a)
(a) under this sub-paragraph if, due to natural events, concentrations of PM10 in the ambient air are significantly in excess of normal background levels from natural sources;
(b)
(b) under this sub-paragraph if, due to the resuspension of particulates following the winter sanding of roads, concentrations of PM10 in the ambient air are significantly in excess of normal background levels from natural sources.
Review of classifications
8.—(1) The Secretary of State shall review the classification of each zone under regulation 7 at least once in every five years in accordance with Part II of Schedule 3.
(2) The Secretary of State shall also review the classification of any zone under regulation 7 in the event of significant changes in activities affecting ambient concentrations in that zone of any of the relevant pollutants.
Method of assessment of ambient air quality
9.—(1) The Secretary of State shall ensure that ambient air quality is assessed in each zone by following the appropriate method for each relevant pollutant and for ozone in accordance with its current classification.
(2) Where a zone is...
To continue reading
Request your trial