| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Public Meeting "Out of breath?" - Air quality in Wandsworth, the facts & what's being done about it | |
| Posted by: | Tim Henderson | |
| Date/Time: | 04/03/12 10:49:00 |
| It depends where you are. Local to the airport there is a significant contribution, particularly to NO2. By the time you get to Putney, the contribution from planes will be small and well-mixed, adding only slightly to the general background pollution. Heathrow believed that it would be able to expand as the emissions from road transport decreased sharply with the introduction of vehicles meeting the newer and tighter Euro standards , allowing it to emit more from planes without breaching EU limits. Unfortunately, although the cars, particularly diesels, meet the test standards, they have been tuned to the testing cycles and do not perform to anything like the same standard when used in the real world. Emissions have not dropped as expected and Heathrow air, like much of inner London, is still breaking EU limits. The airport says it is not a public place, so it is not strictly illegal within its boundaries, though exceedance areas stretch outside. Much of the area receives larger contributions from traffic emissions than planes, but much of the traffic is related to airport use. BAA could still do a lot more to discourage private car use and promote public transport, particularly to the airport workforce - but , despite the talk, has not been particularly effective. The government has not had the guts to seek the derogation of the NO2 limits to 2015 (it should have come into force in 2010) as to do so, you have to prove to the EU that you will have plans in place to meet the targets by that date. London's plans currently show we will not meet the NO2 limit by 2020, but might by 2025! The question is, will the EU have the guts to take the UK to court to help persuade us to protect our health ? If found guilty and fined, it is likely, under the new Localism provisions, that the fine will be payable by London. Boris (or Ken ?) may have to dig deep to pay..... |