Tighter pollution regulations for island still up in the air

It has been three years since the States agreed to tighten the rules.

Currently local law and air pollution testing does not cover all particulate matter which is present in the atmosphere due to combustion in areas such as transport and industry.

Particulate matter is the sum of solid and liquid particles suspended in the air, many of which are toxic.

Director of environmental health and pollution regulation Tobin Cook said progress was being made. ‘New legislation will introduce standards and objective levels for particulates – including PM10 and PM2.5.

‘Legislative drafting has now commenced and this will be introduced under the Environmental Pollution (Guernsey) Law, 2004.’

There is no definitive time frame given for when the drafted legislation will become law due to other legislative priorities.

Locally, the law applies to PM10s – particulate matter of fewer than 10 microns in diameter, which includes dust, dirt, smoke, soot and liquid droplets.

Since 1992 the Office of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation has monitored air pollution levels on Guernsey but has tested only for levels of carbon, sulphur, nitrogen dioxides and PM10s.

PM10s are known to have effects on health and levels are now under observation. However PM 2.5s – less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which have more serious health effects – are just partly regulated and some have never been tested on-island.

Recent epidemiological research has suggested that there is no threshold where health effects do not occur regarding combustion pollutants – these include PM10s but focus mainly upon PM2.5s.

Researchers from the National Research Council in Italy compared literature, published between 1987 and 2003, on health effects in relation to incineration facilities and combustion pollutants.

In over two-thirds of the work, analysed significant exposure-disease connections were reported, especially linked to cancer.

Although the gases emitted to the atmosphere, where possible, are cleansed before release it is impossible to remove entirely so PM2.5 heavy metals and dioxins escape into the atmosphere.

Dioxins are the most lethal persistent organic pollutants and can have irreparable environmental health consequences – they are produced when waste is combusted.

There has been increased concerns about air pollution following the introduction of the new waste charges, which means islanders now have to pay for each bag of rubbish they throw out. When the new waste legislation was agreed last year, local businesses saw a rise in the sale of garden incinerators, despite the health concerns.

The new air pollution legislation is being drafted because there are concerns that, while the UK level of 25 micrograms per metre cubed may have been achieved in 2015, the island’s level of air pollution for PM10s and PM2.5s is above the Scottish target of 12 micrograms per metre cubed.