Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Nickel and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ambient Air Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 58/2009
• Year: 2009

S.I. No. 58 of 2009

ARSENIC, CADMIUM, MERCURY, NICKEL AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN AMBIENT AIR REGULATIONS 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th February, 2009.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 10, 20, 21, 46, 47, 49, 50 and 52 of the Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987) and by sections 6, 53, 54, 56 and 80 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992) and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 2004/107/EC relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambientair (1) hereby makes the following Regulations—

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Arsenic, Cadmium, Mercury, Nickel and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Ambient Air Regulations 2009.

Entry into Force

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 23rd day of February 2009.

Definitions

3. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (No. 7 of 1992);

“CEN” means the European Committee for Standardisation;

“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 2004/107/EC relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air (1) ;

“EMEP” means the Co-operative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe under the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution;

“Framework Directive 96/62/EC” means Council Directive 96/62/EC (2) on ambient air quality assessment and management;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;

“ISO” means the International Organisation for Standardisation;

“zones and agglomerations” mean the zones and agglomerations specified in Schedule VI.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) any reference to an article or sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an article or sub-article of these Regulations;

(b) a reference to a schedule or table which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a schedule or table of these Regulations; and

(c) a letter, word, phrase or symbol which has been assigned a meaning by the Directive has that meaning, where the context requires except where otherwise indicated.

Objective

4. The objectives of these Regulations are to—

(a) establish a target value for the concentration of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air in order to avoid, prevent or reduce harmful effects of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on human health and the environment as a whole;

(b) ensure, with respect to arsenic, cadmium, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, that ambient air quality is maintained where it is good and that it is improved in other cases;

(c) determine common methods and criteria for the assessment of concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air and of the deposition of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; and

(d) ensure that adequate information on concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air and on the deposition of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is obtained and that it is made available to the public.

Target Values and Assessment Thresholds

5. The target values for concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air shall be as specified in Schedule I with effect from 31 December 2012.

6. The upper and lower assessment thresholds for arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air shall be as specified in Section 1 of Schedule II.

Reference Methods and Data Quality

7. (1) The reference methods for the sampling and analysis of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air shall be those specified in Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Schedule V.

(2) The reference techniques for measuring the total deposition of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shall be those specified in Section 4 of Schedule V.

(3) The reference techniques for air quality modelling shall be those, if any, adopted pursuant to Article 6 of the Directive.

(4) The data quality objectives specified at Section 1 of Schedule IV are provided as a guide to quality assurance.

(5) The requirements specified at Section 2 of Schedule IV shall apply where an air quality model is used for assessment.

(6) The requirement specified at Section 3 of Schedule IV shall apply where objective estimation techniques are used.

(7) The provisions of Section 4 of Schedule IV shall apply where substances are to be analysed in the PM 10 fraction.

Assessment and Review of Air Quality

8. (1) The Agency shall assess ambient air quality with regard to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons throughout the territory of the State under these Regulations.

(2) Following the assessment at sub-article (1) the Agency shall list—

(a) the zones and agglomerations in which the levels of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene are below the respective target values specified in Schedule I; and

(b) the zones and agglomerations, if any, in which the levels of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene exceed the respective target values specified in Schedule I.

(3) (a) The Agency shall review, in accordance with the procedure specified in Section 2 of Schedule II, the classification of the zones and agglomerations from time to time and at least every 5 years, or earlier in the event of significant change in activities relevant to concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air.

(b) Following a review under paragraph (a) the Agency may amend the classifications of zones or agglomerations in accordance with sub-article (2).

Measurement of Ambient Air Concentrations and Deposition Rates

9. (1) The Agency shall at fixed sites located in accordance with the relevant criteria specified in this article and articles 10 to 13, undertake, or cause to be undertaken, such number of measurements of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air, through continuous measurement or by random sampling, as shall be sufficient to enable the levels to be determined in—

(a) zones and agglomerations in which the levels are between the upper and the lower assessment threshold; and

(b) zones and agglomerations in which the levels exceed the upper assessment threshold.

(2) The Agency may supplement the measurements provided for at sub-article (1) by modelling techniques to provide an adequate level of information on ambient air quality.

10. (1) The Agency may use—

(a) a combination of measurements, including indicative measurements, as referred to in Section 1 of Schedule IV, and modelling techniques, to assess ambient air quality in zones and agglomerations where the levels over a representative period, as defined by the Agency, are between the upper and lower assessment thresholds, determined in accordance with Section 2 of Schedule II;

(b) solely modelling or objective estimation techniques to assess ambient air quality in zones and agglomerations where the levels are below the lower assessment threshold, determined in accordance with Section 2 of Schedule II; and

(c) bio-indicators where regional patterns of the impact on ecosystems are to be assessed.

(2) The Agency shall ensure that, for zones and agglomerations within which information from fixed measurement stations is supplemented by information from other sources, such as emission inventories, indicative measurement methods and air quality modelling, the number of fixed measuring stations to be installed and the spatial resolution of other techniques shall be sufficient for the concentrations of air pollutants to be established in accordance with Section 1 of Schedule III and Section 1 of Schedule IV.

11. The Agency shall—

(a) locate sampling points for the measurement of arsenic, cadmium, nickel and benzo(a)pyrene in ambient air in order to assess compliance with the target values in accordance with the criteria set out in Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 of Schedule III; and

(b) install sampling points in each zone or agglomeration within which measurement is required if fixed measurement is the sole source of data on concentrations within the zone or agglomeration.

12. The Agency shall assess the contribution of benzo(a)pyrene to the overall concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air, and for this purpose the Agency shall—

(a) at a limited number of sites monitor other relevant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as, at a minimum, benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, benzo(k)fluoranthene, indeno(1, 2, 3-cd)pyrene, and dibenz(a,h)anthracene;

(b) select the sites in order to best identify geographical variation and long-term trends in accordance with Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Schedule III; and

(c) co-locate these sites at those for monitoring benzo(a)pyrene under article 11.

13. (1) The Agency shall install, or arrange for the installation of, at least one background sampling point in the State for the indicative measurement in ambient air of arsenic, cadmium, nickel, total gaseous mercury, benzo(a)pyrene and the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in article 12 and of the total deposition of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel, benzo(a)pyrene and the other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons referred to in article 12.

(2) The Agency may...