The Malta Environment and Planning Authority rebutted claims by three NGOs that its air pollution monitoring stations were "placed incorrectly", giving wrong readings.

Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth and the Ramblers' Association claimed that the disparity between evident pollution and Mepa's "allegedly favourable" air quality monitoring results was because the air monitoring stations were placed incorrectly and not providing data on the real situation or not functioning properly.

Mepa, however, insisted its four air monitoring stations, which determined the concentration levels of most air pollutants every 15 minutes, were located in accordance with and as regulated by the EU directive on ambient air quality. The directive lays down the minimum number and recommended locations for fixed air monitoring stations in each EU state.

The environment authority said it also carried out air quality monitoring through a diffusion tube network, introduced in 2004, to have better spatial coverage over the island. It includes 44 localities and 131 monitoring sites in Malta and Gozo.

The authority also rejected the NGOs' claims that it was "taking the easy way out" by convincing the EU that almost half of the 52 occasions when Malta exceeded EU limits of particulate matter in the air were due to natural causes, such as dust from the Sahara desert and sea spray. Insisting it was not trying to make any kind of excuses, Mepa said it needed to notify the European Commission that certain excesses were the cause of natural and trans-boundary sources over which Malta had no control.

A recent Mepa survey of public attitudes showed that 43 per cent of respondents considered air quality to be the most worrying environmental problem, 83 per cent said air pollution was affecting their health and 89 per cent agreed with measures to reduce vehicle emissions.