Air pollution

Rules

Industries that require IPPC licensing

• Minerals - the extraction, production and processing of raw asbestos, the extraction of aluminium oxide from an ore, the extraction and processing of minerals (minerals are defined as all substances in, on or under land, other than turf or peat) and the storage of related mineral waste and the extraction of peat in the course of business that involves an area exceeding 50 hectares.
• Energy - the use of gas, coal, oil or peat for the production of energy in combustion plant the rated thermal input of which is equal to or greater than 50MW (this does not apply if the plant makes direct use of the products of combustion in the manufacturing process) and the burning of gas, coal, oil or peat in a boiler or furnace with a nominal heat output of more than 50MW.
• Metals - iron, steel, antimony, arsenic, beryllium, chromium, lead, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, cadmium, mercury, aluminium, chlorine. For specific details, contact the EPA.
• Mineral fibres and glass
• Chemicals (this applies to chemical-producing industries and the storage of certain quantities of methyl acrylate (20 tonnes), acrylonitrile (20 tonnes), toluene di-isocyanate (20 tonnes), anhydrous ammonia (100 tonnes) and anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (1 tonne).
• Intensive agriculture
• Food and drink
• Wood, paper, textiles and leather
• Fossil fuels (refers to petroleum, natural gas, coal or bituminous shale, crude petroleum and lignite)
• Cement
• Waste (the recovery and disposal of waste)
• Surface coatings (electroplating operations, coating with organo-tin compounds, manufacture of coating materials that use organic solvents and powder coating manufacture)
• Other (including the testing of engines, turbines or reactors where the floor area exceeds 500 square metres, the manufacture of integrated circuits and printed circuit boards, the production of lime in a kiln and the manufacture of coarse ceramics including refractory bricks, stoneware pipes, facing and floor bricks and roof tiles

Local authorities

In accordance with the Air Pollution Act 1987, local authorities are obliged to take whatever measures they consider necessary to prevent or limit air pollution in their area and the owners of certain industrial plants must obtain an air pollution licence from their local authority or the Environmental Protection Agency in order to operate certain industries that will be responsible for emissions. The EPA and local authorities have separate licensing arrangements and it is not necessary for a company to apply to both of them.

The local authorities play an integral role in preventing and combating air pollution. This includes:

• Monitoring of emissions or the ambient air in the area
• Assessing compliance with the relevant legislation
• Dealing with complaints with regard to air pollution
• Licensing certain categories of industry
• Enforcing the ban on the marketing, distribution and sale of banned fuel (usually bituminous coal)
• Organising and conducting research into the causes, extent and prevention of air pollution
• Establishing and running educational programmes about pollution and its prevention
• Supporting or assisting anyone engaged in any research, survey or investigation into the nature and extent, the cause and effect and the prevention or limitation of air pollution.

Penalties under the Air Pollution Act

Local authorities have the power to enforce penalties for infringement of the Air Pollution Act (1987). Anyone who is found to be in breach of the provisions of the Act is guilty of an offence and can face the following:

For a summary conviction in the District Court: a fine not exceeding €1,270 (as well as a fine not exceeding €127 for every day on which the offence is continued) or imprisonment for any term not exceeding 6 months. If the court decides, you could be subject to both a fine and imprisonment.

On conviction or indictment in the District Court: a fine not exceeding €12,700 (as well as a fine not exceeding €1,270 for every day on which the offence is continued) or imprisonment for any term not exceeding 2 years. Again, if the court decides, you could be subject to both a fine and imprisonment.

A local authority can serve a notice to anyone it decides is breaking the law under the Air Pollution Act. This notice will specify what corrective measures must be taken to prevent air pollution and give a time limit for these measures to be taken. While local authorities are only responsible for enforcing the Air Pollution Act in their own area, they can prosecute premises that are polluting this area, even if the pollution is coming from a source outside of their jurisdiction. If a local authority considers that an individual or company has ignored its warnings and recommendations, it can take a case directly to the High Court. An injunction can be issued by the High Court, which will allow the local authority to deal with the situation immediately. This path is usually reserved for situations the local authority considers to be a serious risk to public health or the environment. Under the Air Pollution Act, there is on onus on companies to use all practicable ways to limit and, if possible, prevent pollution from their premises.

Monitoring

Acceptable levels of certain air pollutants and monitoring methods are set out in EU Directives and national Regulations based on the Directives.. All local authorities are required to monitor air quality for these pollutants in the same way so that results from around the country and around the EU can be compared. The most recent aii rquality Directives set limit values to be achieved by 2005 or 2010, depending on the pollutant, and they prescribe the monitoring, assessment and management approach to be followed to to ensure that these limits are not breached. All results of monitoring from local authorities are forwarded to the EPA, which includes them in its annual report. Some local authorities also publish their annual reports containing details of air pollution in their areas. These reports are published on the web sites of most local authorities. If the report is not available in that form, it will be published in hard copy form and should be available from your local library. You can also contact the Environment section of your local authority for a free copy of this report.

Special control areas

An area can be declared a special control area by a local authority in order to prevent or limit air pollution.

In 1990, the whole Dublin area (Dublin city, Fingal and Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown) was declared a special control area and a ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of bituminous fuel was introduced to alleviate winter smog. Since then, 11 other areas have been included in the ban. Cork city was declared a special control area in 1995. Between 1998 and 2000, 10 other areas - Arklow, Drogheda, Dundalk, Limerick, Wexford, Celbridge, Galway, Leixlip, Naas and Waterford - were declared special control areas and included in the fuel ban. The ban applies to built-up urban areas where pollution is a problem and these areas do not always correspond to town, city or even county boundaries. For example, the ban in Limerick city also takes in some of County Clare and the Drogheda area infringes slightly into County Meath.

For details of the specific areas to which the ban applies, you should contact your local authority. Analysis of air quality monitoring results shows a very significant improvement in air quality in these areas since they were declared special control areas. Local authorities carry out spot checks on fuel retailers to ensure compliance with the ban and complaints about the burning of unauthorised materials should be reported to your local authority. It is not an offence to burn banned fuel and you cannot be prosecuted for doing so. The legislation only applies to those who sell the fuel.

In its expanded role in air quality monitoring and assessment, the EPA may identify a need for control measures in a particular area in order to comply with the 2005 or 2010 standards and the relevant local authority would be required to introduce such measures by way of an air quality management plan. After the new air quality standards come into force, the potential for short-term breaches of limit values may still arise under certain conditions. If such a risk is identified, the local authority may be required to implement a short-term action plan to maintain the pollutant levels within the prescribed limits. The plan may provide for a ban on motor traffic for a period of time in the area affected if traffic is contributing to the problem.