Airborne health hazard getting worse

The levels of particulate matter in the air, which poses a serious health hazard, exceeded the EU threshold one-third of the times it was measured in 2005, according to the newly released State of the Environment Report 2006.

The report says there was an increased trend for measurements to go over EU limits compared to the previous year.

Concentrations measured in Floriana were higher than the daily EU threshold of 50 micrograms per cubic metre in 126 out of 310 days. In Kordin, concentrations exceeded the EU threshold on 81 out of the 292 days measured.

According to the report, published by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) yesterday, the threshold should not be exceeded more than 35 times a year.

Particulate matter is a mixture of fine solid or liquid particles, including elementary carbon, sulphate and nitrate particles from combustion processes, together with tyre and brake abrasion, sea salt and mineral dust emissions that are dispersed in the air.

They can adversely affect health, damage materials and affect visibility.

Exposure to particulate matter could be the largest potential health problem from air pollution in all of Europe, the report notes.

The highest concentration in a 24-hour period stood at 167 micrograms per cubic metre in Floriana and 165 micrograms per cubic metre in Kordin - more than three times the EU threshold.

Alfred Vella, Dean of the Faculty of Science and head of the Chemistry Department at the University of Malta, underlined the importance of addressing levels of particulate matter.

Contacted by The Times, Prof. Vella - who has carried out numerous studies related to marine and air pollution - said unpublished research shows that a good part of the particulate matter comes from sea salt and construction dust, but particles generated by traffic, including substances which are fairly toxic and sometimes even carcinogenic, were also found.

This, he said, was not something novel to Malta, but was found in most big cities. Vehicles equipped with particle abatement technology could help reduce this hazard.

While catalytic converters helped, diesel engines were the worst polluters.

Another worry, according to the report, is the level of ground-level ozone, a secondary pollutant formed by a chemical reaction between volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. This is one of the air pollutants of most concern in Europe.

Although there was a slight improvement in 2005, levels have remained high in rural areas.

On a positive note, the level of benzene dropped by 27 per cent between 2004 and 2005 while the level of sulphur dioxide dipped by 24 per cent.

Marguerite Mugliette, from Mepa's policy coordination office, said that although levels of nitrogen dioxide were still below those established by the EU, there had been a 13 per cent increase between 2004 and 2005.

"If traffic continues to rise, we might have a problem," she said during a press conference.

The report points out that the increase in the number of vehicles has slowed down. It was 0.7 per cent between 2004 and 2005 compared to 11 per cent a decade earlier.

There are also concerns related to soil. The report shows that the level of lead has increased by 60 per cent between 2002 and last year, while salt levels have gone up by a third.

A slight increase in electricity generation was recorded between 2004 and 2005 and last year.

Other key findings

• Planning permission for housing went up by 15 per cent between 2005 and 2006. The growth had gone down from a 35 per cent increase the year before. However, it remains significantly higher than population growth.

• Waste generation rose from 609 kilogrammes per capita in 2004 to 627 per capita in 2005. There has been a 72 per cent increase in separated waste arriving at the Sant'Antnin Waste Treatment Plant between the two years.

• Land for organic farming has gone up from 2005 to 2006, but it makes up only 0.13 per cent of agricultural land.

• Development in the coastal zone increased by one per cent between 2004 and 2005.

• Legally protected landscapes make up 33 per cent of total land area, three times more than in 2000.

• In 2005 the quality of bathing water complied with the Barcelona Convention and EU mandatory values regarding microbiological standards. Full compliance was not possible because of insufficient sampling.