Published : Aug 09,
2012 Last modified : Aug 10, 2012 02:31
PM
High summer temperatures combined with air
pollution can cause ground-level ozone to
form, which has serious effects on health,
especially for older people or children,
or those with asthma and other breathing
problems. The European Environment Agency
(EEA) presents some useful information on
protecting your health from ground-level
ozone this summer.
To date, the highest
concentrations of ozone this summer were
on 25 and 26 July in the afternoon and evening.
Belgium, western Germany, the Paris region
and northern France as well as the north
of Italy were particularly affected.
Excessive ground-level ozone can cause breathing
problems, trigger asthma, reduce lung function
and cause lung diseases. The mortality rate
rises with increases in ozone exposure,
according to several European studies. Unlike
ozone in the stratosphere, which protects
us from ultraviolet radiation, high levels
of ground-level or ‘tropospheric’ ozone
can also damage plants, reducing crop yields
and forest growth, and also damage buildings
and monuments.
Ground-level ozone is not directly emitted
into the atmosphere but is formed from chemical
reactions following the release of various
‘precursor pollutants’ from a wide variety
of sources: for example, fossil fuel combustion,
road transport, refineries, solvents, vegetation,
landfills, wastewater, livestock, and forest
fires.
The reactions that create ozone are catalysed
by heat and sunlight – so it is a particular
problem in the summer months, and southern
Europe typically has much higher levels
of ozone than the north.
Staying safe from poor air quality
You can find up-to-date
information on ground level ozone concentrations
across the pan-European region at the EEA’s
Ozone Web. The site gives hourly ground
level ozone concentrations for the current
situation and recent episodes, based on
up-to-date measured air quality data. The
website provides data from around 2 000
monitoring sites, allowing anyone to check
air quality in a specific region or across
Europe.
Children, the elderly, asthma sufferers
and others with respiratory illnesses are
most vulnerable. If ozone levels are very
high, it is advisable for these groups to
avoid spending a lot of time outdoors. Ozone
levels are usually higher in the afternoon,
so vulnerable people may avoid the higher
levels of pollution by working or exercising
outdoors in the mornings or evenings.
Most Europeans exposed to ozone pollution
Although emissions of precursor pollutants
have fallen in recent years, the level of
ground-level ozone pollution in the air
is still quite high. Seventeen per cent
of the EU urban population lives in areas
where the EU ozone target value for protecting
human health was exceeded in 2010. More
worryingly, more than 95 % of the total
EU urban population is exposed to ozone
levels above World Health Organization guidelines.
Up to 69 % of agricultural crops in EEA
member countries were exposed to ozone levels
in excess of the EU target value for protecting
vegetation from 2001 to 2009 (EEA core set
indicator 005).
Air pollution, including ozone, also has
economic costs. A recent study by the EEA
found that the air pollution released by
the 10 000 biggest industrial facilities
in Europe cost up to €169 billion in 2009.
This was calculated by adding the cost of
poor health, premature death and crop damage
caused by ground-level ozone and other pollutants
including fine particulate matter.
There are several laws in the EU and internationally
which set limits for air pollutant emissions
or their concentrations in air.
+ More
EEA seeks five new members
of its Scientific Committee
Published : Aug 03,
2012 Last modified : Aug 03, 2012 04:28
PM
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is
looking for scientists interested in becoming
members of its Scientific Committee. The
Scientific Committee supports the EEA by
providing independent opinions on the Agency's
work programmes, recruitment of scientific
staff, and scientific questions from the
Management Board or Executive Director.
Members of the Scientific
Committee attend regular meetings, usually
held at the EEA premises in Copenhagen.
Members do not receive remuneration but
are entitled to an indemnity for each full
day meeting, alongside travel and accommodation
expenses.
Applicants should have a university degree
in a relevant scientific area with at least
10 years professional experience and be
a national of one of the EEA member countries.
They must also have expertise in one or
more of the following areas:
Biodiversity, nature conservation and ecosystems
management
Terrestrial ecosystems and soils
Marine ecosystems and maritime space
Urban systems and quality of life
Systems resilience and adaptation to environmental
change
Chemicals and the environment
Environment policy
Environment statistics and accounting
Environmental information systems
Environmental monitoring
Expressions of interest must be submitted
online by 12.00 Central European Time on
Wednesday 12 September 2012.
