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Environmental.Protection@worthing.gov.uk

Air Quality

• Introduction
• Air quality monitoring
• Local air quality management
• The Grove Lodge air quality management area
• What next?
• Links
• Downloads

Introduction

These pages provide information on air quality in Worthing.

Some may recall the great smogs of the 1950’s which resulted in thousands of premature deaths. These pollutant laden fogs were a product of huge quantities of coal being burned for both domestic and industrial use and thankfully are a thing of the past. The Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968 followed and since then improved legislation and tougher air quality targets have reduced pollution episodes, but they still do occur.

In the winter months smogs are formed due to temperature inversion weather conditions. Across the South of England, photochemical summer smogs occur resulting in high concentrations of low-level (tropospheric) ozone.

The air pollutants monitored in Worthing (NO₂ and PM₁₀’s) can have health effects if present in large enough concentrations. Although there is no evidence that pollution from road traffic causes asthma, poor air quality can bring on symptoms to those who have respiratory problems.

This is why Worthing Borough Council will continue to monitor air quality and issue warnings to airAlert users when the air quality is forecast to be poor enough to give possible problems.

In addition to monitoring and reviewing air quality the team also respond to complaints of poor air quality, usually relating to smoke, dust, fumes or odour arising on one property and affecting the occupants of another property. Further details on such Statutory Nuisances can be found on our pollution complaints page.

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Air quality monitoring

We currently operate one real-time air quality monitoring station on the A27 at Grove Lodge.  This continuously monitors the quality of the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The NO₂ data we collect can be found online at Sussex Air Quality: Latest Readings

The data collected is essential to ensure that we can work towards improving air quality as it allows us to target the areas of most concern and identify the principal cause or source of that pollution.

We also monitor NO₂ at 43 sites across the Borough using small diffusion tubes.  These are left for periods of one month before being sent away for analysis.  The results of these are contained in the annual air quality reports at the foot of this page.

PM₁₀ levels are monitored at two sites – Grove Lodge and Goring.  Data from these are available in our annual reports.

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Local air quality management

The Environmental Protection Team of the Council has a key role in managing local air quality. The Team review and assess air quality against specific health based national objectives for seven key pollutants and are required to produce annual reports of air quality within the Borough.  These may be viewed at the foot of this page.

Worthing Borough Council is a member of the Sussex Air Quality Partnership (SussexAir), which promotes improvements in air quality related issues in Sussex. The partnership comprises representatives from City, Borough and District Councils in East and West Sussex, East and West Sussex County Councils, the Sussex Health Protection Agency, Sussex Primary Care Trusts, the Environment Agency, the University of Sussex and the University of Brighton.

Under the Environment Act 1995 every local authority must review present and likely future air quality within its area. Where air quality objectives (as set out in the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000) are not being achieved, or are unlikely to be achieved within the relevant period, local authorities must designate Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA). This applies only to those locations where members of the public might reasonably be exposed. An AQMA is a geographical area that is drawn up around a pollution hot spot. Once an area has been designated the local authority must carry out a further assessment and develop an Action Plan, describing what actions relevant agencies will be taking to try and comply with the relevant Objective.

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The Grove Lodge air quality management area

The Worthing Borough Council Air Quality Management Area No.1 was declared in July 2010 for a breach of the Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) annual mean objective as specified in the Air Quality Regulations 2000.  The Order covers the A27 near the Grove Lodge roundabout and incorporates Upper Brighton Road from First Avenue to the Grove Lodge Roundabout, 22-27 Lamorna Grove and Warren Road from the Grove Lodge Roundabout to the northern slip road of Warren Court.

The Grove Lodge AQMA - Full map download below

Monitoring in the vicinity of the Grove Lodge roundabout on the A27 Upper Brighton Road suggested that the annual average air quality objective for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) was being breached.  Detailed air quality modelling was carried out by the Sussex Air Quality Partnership on behalf of the Council. This and the subsequent Detailed Assessment showed that the NO₂ Annual Mean Objective was being exceeded and was likely to continue to be exceeded, at residential receptors and that an AQMA should therefore be declared.

The Council’s ‘Updating and Screening Assessment 2009’ showed that the objective for annual average NO₂ continued to be exceeded in the vicinity of the Grove Lodge roundabout during 2008 and therefore an AQMA must be declared.

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What next?

We are working on our ‘Action Plan’ which will set out how we intend to work towards reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide in the AQMA. As the elevated levels are primarily caused by traffic, we will be working with the Highways Agency (responsible for the A27) and West Sussex County Council (the other highway authority) to look at ways of reducing levels of nitrogen dioxide.

We are always interested in the views of members of the public on how we could achieve the objective of reducing nitrogen dioxide levels. You can submit your views by contacting Environmental Health and clearly stating 'Grove Lodge AQMA' using our on-line contact form.

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Links

• Sussex Air : Where you can also view data from certain monitoring sites across Sussex
• airAlert : A service provided by the Sussex Air Quality Partnership (SAQP), that sends alert messages to vulnerable people in Sussex informing them that poor air quality is predicted in their area. The alerts are sent to home phones via voice message, to mobile phones via text and via email.
• DEFRA's Local Air Quality Management site : a wealth of information about Local Air Quality Management, the pollutants of concern and the national air quality objective.
• UK Air – Air Information Resource : Also a useful information resource

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Downloads

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