Since about 1993, we in Bromley have been carrying out a rigorous assessment of local air quality in the Borough. This is required by both National and European law and the results are used to make informed policy decisions. The Government’s National Air Quality Strategy makes it the responsibility of each local authority to monitor and also to ensure that Air Quality Standards are not exceeded.
In 2002, the Mayor of London published “Cleaning London’s Air – The Mayor’s Air Quality Strategy” and this was followed a year later by Bromley’s Air Quality Strategy.
For many years, our monitoring showed that the Air Quality Standards were being met and consequently that no action or intervention was necessary; in fact our air quality was considered to be among of the best in London. In 2006, however, it was finally accepted that Air Quality Standards were unlikely to be met for nitrogen dioxide and in March 2007 we declared an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). We were the last London Borough to do so. Bromley is a very diverse Borough, including areas which may be considered “inner city” and other more rural areas which form a part of the Green Belt. It was decided that only six wards in the north and west were likely to breach Standards and therefore the AQMA includes less than a fifth of the borough’s area.
Air quality monitoring is very expensive and whilst many residents would like monitoring to be carried out in their neighbourhood this is not practical. The approach has therefore been to operate a small number (currently three) of continuous monitoring sites which produce data of the highest quality, and this is supplemented by a larger number of inexpensive diffusion tubes which are exposed for a period of a few weeks. Air quality is then calculated from the emissions which are known to arise from road traffic and other fixed sources such as boilers, incinerators etc and the results are regularly compared with the measured information in order to ensure that the computer modeling is accurate.
The data from the continuous monitoring sites is handled by Kings College who are responsible for the London Air Quality Network, and their website is updated every hour with the measured levels from each monitoring station. There is also a great deal more historical and background information on their website on all aspects of air quality and its effect on human health.
Following the decision to declare an Air Quality Management Area, we are now required to produce an Action Plan, to show what steps are necessary to ensure that Air Quality Standards are not exceeded. It is very important to ensure that the views of the community are sought before the Action Plan receives final Council approval and consultation on the draft version is expected to start in June or July 2009.
In addition to the work carried out on air quality monitoring and the implementation of the Action Plan, we are also responsible for a number of Prescribed Processes which must by authorized under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in order to control and limit the emissions to the atmosphere. These include vehicle spraying operations, concrete batching, and concrete crushing. Recently, dry cleaners have also been included of which there are over fifty in the Borough; one of the highest numbers in London. Petrol filling stations are also authorized in the same way and we work closely with the London Fire Brigade in approving these installations.
The majority of the Borough has been designated a Smoke Control Area, which was intended to ensure that the serious smogs of the early 1950s never happened again. The only part of the Borough not included in the Smoke Control Area is in the Cudham and Downe area. Further advice is available on what can and what cannot be burnt in the Smoke Control Area.
We are also very pleased to have one of the few pollen monitoring stations in the south east and we count pollen daily during the grass pollen season, giving the information to the Pollen Bureau who provide the daily forecasts which are widely available in the media.
Contact us if you need advice on local air quality.