EU preparing legal action over UK air quality record

In a move that could have significant repercussions for UK transport policy, including the planned expansion of Heathrow, the European Union last week revealed it is planning legal action over the UK's consistent failure to adhere to air quality rules.

Writing in a letter to Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman Ed Davey, EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said that the commission was " preparing the launch of infringement proceedings against the UK" over its repeated breach of rules governing the concentration of sooty particles known as PM10s.

"There are PM10 exceedances in London along more than 200km of roads," he wrote. "In view of the serious consequences of high concentrations of PM10, the commission expects the UK to ensure a speedy reduction."

PM10s are known to contribute to asthma and heart disease, and the government estimates they result in up to 24,000 premature deaths a year.

According to Guardian reports, documents obtained by the Campaign for Clean Air in London (CCAL) show that more than 20 UK cities and towns have broken the EU law on PM10s since they came into force in 2006. If found guilty of the breaches, the UK could be subjected to unlimited fines.

The legal action, which is likely to take up to two years to come to court, could prove the first in a wave of cases against the UK over its poor air quality record.

A number of areas in the UK are also known to be in breach of rules governing concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which contributes to lung damage and respiratory problems.

The UK has an exemption from the rules, which came into effect last year, until 2010. But the government is sceptical that it can meet the revised deadline and is already planning a request to have the exemption extended.

The NO2 standards are likely to increase pressure on the government to implement more congestion tackling measures, such as the proposed Manchester congestion charging zone that was rejected last month, and could also have major repercussions for its controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow, a decision on which is expected in the next two weeks.

According to data obtained by The Sunday Times, an air pollution detector at Heathrow showed that the annual average level of NO2 last year was 52 micrograms per cubed metre, well above the EU legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubed metre.

The government and airport operator BAA have claimed that improvements in technology will allow the airport to increase the number of flights while reducing NO2 levels below legal limits. But the EU, the government's own Environment Agency and green groups have all questioned their predictions arguing that any expansion of the airport would likely lead to long term breaches of air quality standards, opening the government up to further embarrassing legal action.

In related news, The Times has reported today that the area affected by increased noise pollution as a result of the proposed expansion of Heathrow is likely to be far larger than first thought.

The paper claims the government is set to authorise increased use of the airport's existing runways alongside plans for a third runway. The changes will result in extended landing flight paths to allow one runway to be used for both take off and landing. These so-called "mixed mode" flight paths will see the point at which planes enter their final approach extended by eight miles, resulting in homes and businesses up to 30 miles from the airport being affected by increased noise pollution.