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Bioaerosols, comprised of bacteria, fungi and viruses are ubiquitous in ambient air. Known to adversely affect human health, the impact of bioaerosols on a population often manifests as outbreaks of illnesses such as Legionnaires Disease and Q fever, although the concentrations and environmental conditions in which these impacts occur are not well understood. Bioaerosol concentrations vary from source to source, but specific industrialised human activities such as water treatment, intensive agriculture and open windrow composting facilitate the generation of bioaerosol concentrations many times higher than natural background levels. Bioaerosol sampling is currently undertaken according to the requirements of the Environment Agency’s regulatory framework, in which the collection of bioaerosols and not its long-term measurement is of most importance. As a consequence, sampling devices are often moved around site according to changing wind direction and sampling intervals are invariably short-term. The dispersion modelling of bioaerosols from composting facilities typically relies on proxy pollutant parameters. In addition, the use of short term emission data gathering strategies in which monitors are moved frequently with wind direction, do not provide a robust reliable and repeatable dataset by which to validate any modelling or to verify its performance. New sampling methods such as the Spectral Intensity Bioaerosol Sensor (SIBS) provide an opportunity to address several gaps in bioaerosol model validation and verification. In the context of model validation, this paper sets out the current weaknesses in bioaerosol monitoring from the perspective of robust modelling requirements.

The scope of the work requested under this specific contract is to provide a report/assessment text that may be directly incorporated into EEA’s 2018 report exploring the linkages between socioeconomic status (SES) in Europe and exposure to air and noise pollution, as well as to climate-related impacts. More specifically, this report builds on the findings of the 2016 Science for Environment Policy (SEP) report to provide an updated qualitative review of the latest evidence and state of knowledge regarding the role of SES in determining exposure, susceptibility and vulnerability to air pollution and noise, documenting research that explores the multiple factors and drivers that can lie behind these linkages. This review has identified and synthesised evidence from a wide range of sources in response to the objectives set by the EEA and covers evidence relating to at least 18 of the EEA-33 countries. The conclusions presented here explicitly identify where this review confirms, contradicts or adds to the conclusions of the SEP report.

© 2018 WIT Press. Air pollution has as significant impact on the health of European citizens, particularly in urban areas, and was responsible for more than 400,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2014. It is within our cities where this public health impact is most acute as high population densities and high ambient concentrations result in an increased risk of exposure. This health impact is further exacerbated as air pollution interacts with other social determinants of health creating a disproportionate risk and burden. Traditional top-down government policy development and consultation, married with a very techno-centric view of air pollution sources and solutions, has resulted in a general apathy among citizens towards the problem of air pollution and subsequently a lack of ownership of the solutions. The ClairCity Project aims to create a major shift in public understanding towards the causes of poor air quality, inviting citizens to give their opinions on air pollution and carbon reduction policies to shape the cities of the future. By putting citizens' behaviour and activities at the heart of policy making for air quality and carbon management, ClairCity has utilised a suite of innovative toolkits for enhanced quantification and citizen engagement (such as surveys, workshops, online games and apps) to assess the public acceptability of specific policies and also to enable a bottom-up, citizen-led scenario creation process whereby citizens are empowered to visualise clean, low carbon, healthy futures for their city.

This presentation provides a high-level assessment of air pollution and its management viewed through the lens of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It contains • a short overview of the sparse literature, • an assessment of the impact of air pollution as a barrier to achieving the SDGs • an assessment of the enabling contribution of air quality management. • concluding observations and a call for further research.

© 2018 WIT Press. The leading source of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in Bristol, United Kingdom is road transport, and Bristol exceeds the annual mean national air quality objective of 40 µg/m3 for NO2 in many locations around the city. Understanding the reasons for residents' modal choice is an important element in managing air quality in the city. The ClairCity Project approach provides insight into how to reduce overall transport demand and identify incentives that will be effective in creating modal switch away from higher polluting private motorised vehicles. From the ClairCity Project survey subset of commuters (n=442), 45% of respondents used cars or vans at least occasionally for their journey to work, with 28% of the total number of commuters relying exclusively on private motorised transport. The majority of these car users (65.6%) said they would prefer not to travel by car to work in the future. Their responses showed a mix of negative perceptions of public transport, geography and health as key motivations. Family responsibilities, lack of safe cycling and walking spaces, poor health and disability, distance, requirements to transport goods as well as themselves and the need for flexibility were all given as barriers to modal switching. This suggests that for car commuters, well-targeted policy interventions could provide practical alternatives that would appeal to those who currently rely on private motorised transport. Understanding citizens' perceptions, behaviours and activities is a key element in decision-making to reduce transport related air quality emissions and concentrations.

Delhi National Capital Region (Delhi NCR) is facing serious challenges linked to worrying levels of air pollution (mainly NO2, PM10 and PM2.5). The CADTIME prject (Clean Air in Delhi through Implementation, Mitigation and Engagement) aims to understand what is required to deliver significant reductions in levels of air pollution. This paper presents the results of the first stage of the project: it firstly contextualises the challenges of air quality management in Delhi within the broader evolution of environmental policies and governance in India, with particular consideration to the tensions between environmental protection and the country’s development objectives. Secondly, it sets out how CADTIME will combine multiple source qualitative and quantitative data to develop an air quality action plan and an implementation strategy. In particular, through two workshops with local and national experts and stakeholders, and two rounds of focus groups with citizens of Delhi we will contrast stakeholders’ priorities and preferences for existing and potential solutions to air pollution with citizens’ lived experiences, thus assessing the political/technical feasibility and public acceptability of current and proposed measures. Furthermore, we will complement the primary qualitative data with a critical review examining the successes and failures of UK and European policies to draw lessons that can be relevant for Delhi and to avoid ineffective policies and achieve cost-effective solutions for the city in the shortest possible time.

Globally, poor air quality is the most significant environmental health concern. Across Europe, 400,000 deaths were attributed to air pollution in 2012, whilst in the UK over 50,000 deaths per year are due to a combination of gaseous and particulate matter air pollution. The deadline for achieving the EU limit value for NO2 was the 1st of January 2010, yet the UK remains non-compliant in 38 of 43 zones and agglomerations. As a consequence, in April 2015, the government was ordered by the UK Supreme Court to draw up new air quality plans to achieve the EU limit values in the shortest time possible. In response the UK government consulted on a draft national air quality plan, which estimated compliance with the EU Air Quality Directive by 2020 in all zones and agglomerations except London (compliance by 2025). The plan introduces the concept of a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) to address the non-compliant zones but overall has significant weaknesses in many zones and agglomerations and compliance by 2020 (and 2025 in London) is considered to be overly optimistic. The plan’s predictive models use vehicle emission factors that are not considered representative of actual driving conditions, and transparency in the data underlying vehicle fleet turnover calculations is lacking. The suitability of CAZ as a cornerstone of the plan is of particular concern. This contribution examines new evidence that challenges the robustness of the UK government’s air quality plan. If air quality within the UK is to improve within the shortest time possible, significant improvements in the analysis and proposed solutions will be required.

© 2015 WIT Press. In 2013, the UK exceeded the EU limit value for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) annual mean at 31 of its 43 zones and agglomerations. Current government predictions are that full compliance will not be achieved until after 2030, with 65% zones still expected to be exceeding in 2020. In February 2014, the European Commission launched legal proceedings against the UK for its failure to cut excessive levels of NO2. However, there is an increasing onus on local authorities to manage air pollution locally and a legal threat in the Localism Act 2011 that may make them liable for any EU fines. This research has examined Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) reports and monitored concentrations of NO2 over the last 14 years for all local authorities with exceedances due to road traffic and, as previously reported to this conference series, found that there is insufficient appropriate data available to evaluate the LAQM process as a whole on this basis. Instead, six case study local authorities, for which sufficient data were available, were individually evaluated to determine whether any action plan measures could be associated with changes in local NO2 concentrations. This paper describes the methodology and findings with respect to the implementation of action plan measures, using Bristol City Council as an example. It examines some of the challenges of quantifying air quality impacts and attributing changes to implementation of measures, and makes recommendations for improvements to UK air quality management.

In February 2014 the European Commission launched legal proceedings against the UK for its failure to cut excessive levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The failure of national action to achieve the necessary reduction in NO2 places an increasing onus on local authorities in the UK to assist the government with the achievement of the EU limit values. This research sets out to evaluate the effectiveness of Local Air Quality Management, as evidenced over the last 14 years, as a means to improve local air quality focusing on annual mean NO2. Previous research has presented the methodology for the sample selection for this study; this paper describes the methodology relating to the resulting six local authority case studies, but presents the results of the trends in NO2 concentrations in the Bristol AQMA as an example, before drawing conclusions and making recommendations for improvements to UK air quality management.

This research examines the role of Local Air Quality Management Action Planning in achieving the EU limit value for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) annual mean, focusing on those Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) declared in England before July 2005 for exceedences of the NO2 annual mean objective from road traffic sources. The paper describes the initial stages of the methodology, analysing the availability of Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs) and annual mean NO2 monitoring data. The research finds an absence of government monitoring sites with adequate nitrogen dioxide data relative to the selected AQMAs, as well as an absence of AQAPs and annual progress reports. The paper concludes that Local Air Quality Management is insufficiently calibrated to provide adequate support to the achievement of the EU limit value for NO2 annual mean.

This paper explores the operation of air quality action planning within the framework of UK air quality management with particular reference to the key actors and actions. The paper examines the intentions of action planning policy and reflects on the role of local government in achieving these intentions. A review of primary sources and peer-reviewed literature identifies some of the barriers to action plan implementation and explores why these barriers remain in place after more than a decade of action. As a nationally mandated but locally operated policy, it is argued that there is a mismatch between ambition, powers and effects. The paper concludes with an exploration of the opportunities to reconceptualise and re-energise the air quality action planning process in order to provide appropriate protection for public health. © 2012 WIT Press.

Despite 14 years of UK Local Air Quality Management (LAQM), ambient NO concentrations have not decreased as expected. Although NO concentrations decreased from 1996 to 2002-4, this trend has subsequently levelled off. The UK Government has failed to meet European Union (EU) limit values for NO and PM and risks incurring fines of ~£300m. The number of local authorities (60%) having declared Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs), primarily for traffic-related pollutants (NO and PM ), has grown steadily since 2001, and despite the production of local Air Quality Action Plans (AQAPs) there have been no traffic-related AQMA revocations solely on the basis of their implementation. The UK Air Quality Strategies (1997-2007) have focussed on emission reduction technologies to reduce overall pollutant concentrations, whilst LAQM targets specific local hotspots often through air quality measures in Local Transport Plans. The failure of this system to achieve necessary NO reductions has been attributed in part to a reliance of national policy on Euro vehicle standards, without significant endeavour to reduce road traffic growth. Locally, deficiencies in funding, interdepartmental communication, political will and public awareness, have been criticised for hindering action plan measures. The UK Government's localism agenda threatens to reduce the top-down governance of LAQM whilst also introducing the potential for EU fines to be passed to local authorities where limit values are exceeded. At the same time, the UK Government has outlined changes that will put more emphasis on the development of local measures to achieve EU limit values. This paper discusses the potential for local action to achieve the limit values and concludes that further work is necessary at a national level to assist local authorities in this aim. © 2011 WIT Press. 2 2 2 10 2 10 2

The UK has operated a sophisticated Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) regime since 1997. This comprises two distinct phases: Review and Assessment and Action Planning. The Review and Assessment is the diagnostic phase and concludes with declaration of an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) where Air Quality Objectives (AQOs) are exceeded, which then initiates the Air Quality Action Plan intended to provide solutions to the identified problems. More than half of UK local authorities have one or more AQMAs. Air Quality Action Plans are expected to define measures and timescales by which air quality in the AQMA will comply with AQOs. The main source of the air quality exceedence is traffic-related NO or PM . The Review and Assessment phase is effective at diagnosing air quality problems but the Air Quality Action Plan phase cannot yet be judged to be a successful policy intervention. Local authorities have limited powers to initiate direct actions amid concerns about the political impact of measures that will the process affect the car-driving public. In such circumstances local authorities have been unable to get traction on air quality management problems. Central to the LAQM regime is the division of responsibility between central government and local government. Whilst LAQM is a local responsibility, central government's has an overarching role in controlling the regime through framing the process, defining national goals, setting strategic directions, and ensuring appropriate resourcing for national and local actions. Despite this national process guidance and direction local authorities are failing to achieve local air quality improvements at the rate expected when LAQM was introduced. This paper considers the implications of two distinct policy disconnects present in the LAQM process. The first of which is that between the spatial and temporal diagnosis of poor air quality and the solution proffered in the Air Quality Action Plan. Secondly, the disconnection between local actions and the strategic direction and policy intentions offered by central government. A number of changes to the process of LAQM are recommended to reconnect the policy disconnections identified in this paper. © 2010 WIT Press. 2 10

The potential risk to human health posed by exposure to bioaerosols released from composting is an important issue. Further growth in the number of composting facilities in the UK is anticipated as biodegradable waste is diverted from landfill. To date, studies of bioaerosol emission from composting have focussed on culturable bioaerosols. This paper describes both culturable bioaerosol and endotoxin release and dispersal from two large green waste composting facilities in the UK. Aspergillus fumigatus, actinomycetes, Gram-negative bacteria, and endotoxins were simultaneously and repeatedly sampled to describe the release and dispersal from these sites. Meteorological and site operational observations were recorded, allowing analysis of factors influencing bioaerosol release and dispersal. The highest measured concentrations of bioaerosols were associated with composting activities such as shredding and turning. Between release and 50-80m downwind bioaerosol concentrations reduced by 80-90%. An unexpected second peak was detected 100-150m downwind from source at both sites. Endotoxin dispersal patterns were site specific and showed some differences to dispersal patterns of culturable microorganisms. © 2009 WIT Press.

Due to the common sources of emissions of both air quality pollutants and greenhouse gases, management measures directed at one category of emissions are likely to positively impact the other. Through the local air quality management (LAQM) process, local authorities are required to monitor and measure specified air pollutants, the sources of which are also common to the primary sources of carbon emissions at a local level. This research tracks the progression of local authority management of carbon emissions and examines the barriers and opportunities for the integration of carbon emissions into the LAQM process. Results are triangulated from three core research methods deployed in South West England: a time series of local authority questionnaire surveys; secondary data analysis of active Air Quality Action Plans; and case study interviews of six local authorities in the region. The research concludes that the absence of statutory targets for carbon emission reductions remains a substantial barrier for local authority carbon management initiatives. However, in order to utilise scarce resources in the most efficient manner, local authorities should draw upon the existing skill set of their Air Quality Officers.

Since 1997, Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) has been used as a process through which local authorities in England identify and manage specific air quality problems within their jurisdictions in order to achieve the air quality objectives (AQO). However, the limitation of this process is that of policy disconnect between diagnosis and solutions proffered within it. Over 90% of air quality ‘hot-spots’ identified through the LAQM are due to traffic-related sources. Hence, the air quality action plans prepared by the environmental health officers (EHO) are improperly calibrated as a policy instrument for tackling most of the problems discovered through the LAQM. The inclusion of air quality as one of the four shared priorities in the second round of the Local Transport Plan (LTP2) therefore implies that the EHO need to engage with the transport planners (TP) at the local level in order to address most of these problems i.e. traffic-related air pollution. Since LAQM and LTP operate as two parallel frameworks with a separate agenda and timetable, adequate connectivity between both policy packages is thereby dependent on the type and level of inter-professional engagement between the departments and officials responsible for both policies at every level of government involved. This paper presents emerging issues from the questionnaire survey of EHO and TP in over 200 local authorities in 2007 as part of a three-year investigation into the effectiveness of achieving the AQO through the LTP in English local authorities. While there is wide support for the achievement of AQO through the LTP, the two groups identified differences in time-scale for delivering both policies, prioritisation of air quality within LTP, and unequal expectations as major factors affecting the integration. These factors indicate the existence of institutional complexities between parallel policy communities in ensuring integration.

This paper examines the relationship between the policy process for local authority management of air quality and local government initiatives and strategies for carbon mitigation. It seeks to explore the policy and process linkages between the sources of carbon emissions and air quality pollutants in order to assess the potential benefits and/or limitations of an integrated approach for their co-management at a local and regional governance level. Local authorities, as environmental regulators, have a significant role in the UK’s attempts to tackle the problems associated with climate change. This paper describes the extent to which non-statutory management of carbon emissions is undertaken at a local governance level in south west England and examines the extent to which carbon emissions and local air quality management are integrated and co-managed at local and regional governance levels. Results are presented from a questionnaire survey of local authorities in the south west and selected others from England conducted in 2007 and presents interim conclusions.

This paper considers the development and operation of the UK’s air quality management regime since its introduction in the Environment Act, 1995. In the context of a changing and challenging air pollution climate, the development of an effects-based, risk management system for air quality regulation is evaluated. Key to the regime is the division of responsibility between central government and local government for both the diagnosis of areas of poor air quality and for the development of solutions to improve air quality.

Air quality in New Zealand is perceived by many to be very good. This is facilitated by low population density, geographical isolation and a maritime climate. The climate and weather of New Zealand is also affected by large scale wind systems which promote westerly winds and aid dispersion. Despite favourable conditions, air pollution is a problem in many urban centres in New Zealand. Although industrial emissions contribute to pollution, emissions from domestic and traffic sources are significant. Outdoor burning and domestic fires are common, and are a major source of air pollutants and complaints. National Environmental Standards for Ambient Air Quality were introduced in 2004 but these are unlikely to be achieved in a number of locations including Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, where traffic emissions are the major source of air pollution. Auckland’s population is 1.3 million people (almost one third of the national total). The city covers an area approximately equal in size to London. Poorly developed public transport services and urban sprawl have resulted in reliance on private vehicles, and ownership rates in New Zealand are among the highest in the world. In conjunction with an aged vehicle fleet and severe traffic congestion, the resulting air pollution has become a significant issue in Auckland. This paper considers the process of air quality management in New Zealand, illustrated by the particular problems systemic to Auckland. Policy responses include a Regional Land Transport Strategy with health protection as a key objective. However, it is far from certain whether these will successfully deliver cleaner air, and further national guidance and additional transport focussed regulations may be needed to achieve the air quality improvements in Auckland necessary to meet the national Standards.

The world's population has been growing continuously, with most people inhabiting urban settlements. Furthermore, air pollution has become a growing concern, mainly in densely populated cities, where human health is threatened by acute air pollution episodes. The H2020 ClairCity project aims to substantially improve future air quality and carbon policies in European cities by initiating new modes of engaging citizens, stakeholders and policy makers. ClairCity applies an innovative quantification framework developed to assess environmental, health and economic impacts. In this work, the quantification framework was applied and calibrated for the baseline situation in Bristol, the ClairCity pilot city. The second-generation Gaussian model URBAIR was set up to simulate NO2 and particulate matter (PM) concentrations for the entire year of 2015. An analysis of source contribution was performed providing information on the contributions of different source sectors (e.g. road transport, industrial, residential and commercial) to NO2 and PM concentrations. The results point to a predominant contribution of road transport sector of 53% to NO2 concentrations in Bristol, while the residential sector is the main contributor (with a contribution of 82%) to particulate matter concentrations, mainly linked with a high use of solid biomass combustion in this sector. These results can be powerful to support the design of air quality management plans and strategies and to forecast potential benefits of reducing emissions from a particular source category.