A new EEA report on 'Air pollution at street level in European cities', published on 23 March 2006, has found air pollution above recommended levels in each of the 20 European cities surveyed.
The samples were taken in 2000 in Antwerp, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Budapest, Copenhagen, Gdansk, Graz, Helsinki, Katowice, Lisbon, London, Marseilles, Milan, Paris, Prague, Rome, Stuttgart and Thessaloniki.
"Air quality limit values, which are aimed at protecting public health, are frequently exceeded especially in streets and other urban hotspots," the EEA writes in the report. "The improvement of air quality is therefore imperative," it adds, pointing to high human exposure to air pollutants in densely populated urban areas.
"Evidence of the adverse health effects of fine particulate matter is continuously emerging and it is alarming that most of the traffic-related emissions are in the fine particulates range [below the PM2.5 scale]," the EEA writes. Fine particulate matter (PM) in the nanometer scale (PM2.5 and PM1) is of particular concern to human health as it is capable of penetrating deeper inside the lungs.
EU lawmakers are currently examining new 'Euro 5' rules that would limit emissions of particulate matter by diesel cars to 5 mg/km. Environment ministers on 9 March expressed broad support for including long term limits in the proposal presented last year by the Commission (EurActiv, 9 Jan. 2006). They also called on the Commission to come forward "as soon as possible" with proposals to reduce pollution from heavy-duty vehicles ('Euro 6').
Furthermore, the ministers acknowledged that current policies would fail to significantly reduce the health impacts of air pollution by 2020, saying "additional action must be taken to combat air pollution."
