The Stage 4 Air Quality Review and Assessment Report
The publication of the final version of the Stage 4 Air Quality Review and Assessment Report is the culmination of a process that began in 1997.
The process involved assessing the emissions from the Borough’s industrial, road and domestic sources in order to determine if the Government’s Air Quality Objectives for a number of pollutants were likely to be exceeded by the qualifying date (2003–2005).
The pollutants of concern are: - Benzene, 1,3-Butadiene, Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide, Fine Particles (PM10) and Sulphur Dioxide.
The conclusion of the first 3 stages of the process was that the only objective that would be likely to be exceeded was the annual average objective for nitrogen dioxide due solely to vehicle exhaust emissions.
This led to the declaration of 3 Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within and around Doncaster itself. The purpose of the Stage 4 assessment was to reassess the conclusions of the Stage 3 report by taking into account any new national or local policies and developments, new information on emission factors and the results of any further monitoring.
The conclusions of the Stage 4 report reaffirmed the need for the 3 AQMAs and led to the proposed declaration of a 4th, centred on the M18 at Hatchell Wood, Cantley, again is likely to exceed the annual average objective for nitrogen dioxide.
As a result of the declaration of the AQMAs an Air Quality Action plan has been produced that contains measures designed to reduce nitrogen dioxide emissions from traffic.
