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Last changed: 29.01.2010
The UBA has assessed air quality for the year 2009 based on interim data. At 55 % of air measuring stations placed in urban areas in the vicinity of traffic, annual mean levels of nitrogen dioxide concentrations were above the 40 µg/m3 air which is set as the cap as of 1.1.2010. Particulate concentrations (PM10) also rose above the statutory caps. There were PM10 concentrations of 50 µg/m3 measured at 23 of the total 408 measuring stations in the network on more than 35 days.
The Federal Environment Agency now has a new service: an interactive and user-oriented map service provides large-scale visualisation of air pollution by particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide, and ozone in Germany.
The levels of particulate matter pollution in Germany’s inner cities continue to remain too high. The ceiling of 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air has already been exceeded more often than the allowable 35 days a year in six cities. More cities might follow suit in the coming days. UBA recommends concrete action to effectively reduce particulate matter pollution.
Would you like to know how much CO2 or waste a certain industrial operator in Germany produces? Since 2008 large industrial operators have been obliged to report on their pollutant emissions to the air, water, and soil, on pollutants in their effluent, and on the volumes of the waste they dispose of. As of 3 June 2009, this information is accessible to the public via the Internet in the German Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR).
Many cities in Germany have established low-emission zones, and more will be set up in 2009. To protect the population from health-impairing fine particulates, low-emission zones are open to vehicles emitting less particulate matter. This improves air quality in city centres.
What does my town do if air pollution limit values are exceeded? Does it have a clean air plan? The Federal Environment Agency has compiled the plans drawn up by Federal States, cities and municipalities.
Investigations for the years 1995-2004 show that nitrogen and ozone pollution still exceeds critical loads Critical loads mean a quantitative estimate of the inputs (deposition) of one or more pollutants below which adverse effects are not expected to occur, according to present knowledge and critical levelsCritical levels mean a quantitative estimate of the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere (immission) above which direct adverse effects on receptors (human beings, plants, animals, ecosystems, materials) may occur, according to present knowledge.. The main source for ozone is road traffic while for nitrogen it is livestock farming.
New air pollution control requirements for industrial installations such as waste incinerators and power plants, and associated changes in the relevant legislation and secondary legislation have made it necessary to revise the Manual on Emission Monitoring. The manual provides comprehensive information on the legal basis and on how to perform emission measurements. It represents an important reference tool for emission monitoring practice in Germany.
Two workshops took place in May 2008 and October 2009 in Yerevan and St. Petersburg, respectively, which aimed to support countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in ratifying the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution and in transposing it into national law. The brochure that documents the workshop in Yerevan contains scientific contributions and a checklist to assist in the ratification of the UNECE Protocol on Heavy metals, supplemented by experiences from Eastern and Western European countries as well as reports on monitoring of pollutants and environmental effects.
A research project commissioned by the UBA analyses economic instruments designed to reduce emissions from seagoing ships. The results are presented in two studies. One deals with the extension of the EU emissions trading scheme to shipping, and the second study evaluates different market-based instruments for abatement of emissions from shipping, taking the Baltic Sea as pilot region.
More than two thirds of Germany’s forest trees are damaged. Implementation of the strategy to control nitrogen emissions proposed by the Federal Environment Agency could decrease air pollution and also improve the condition of Germany’s forests.
Have emissions of air pollutants continued their decline? Will the targets be achieved? Annual emissions inventories are taken to assess just this. The German inventories of 1990-2007, as required by the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (UNECE - CLRTAP), were published and submitted to the international committees in spring 2009. The inventory reports record the volume and development of emissions. The Informative Inventory Report details the trends and the data sets used.
Nitrogen emissions from agriculture, transport, energy generation and industry threaten biodiversity, contaminate water bodies, and increase concentrations of greenhouse gases and fine particulate matter in air. The UBA has developed an integrated strategy for reduction of nitrogen emissions, which points out synergies in reaching various environmental targets. Measures in agriculture show a high reduction potential with high cost effectiveness.
Heating with wood is good for the climate. Yet, wood stoves and boilers also emit fine particles that are harmful to health. The German Federal Government is planning to require owners of certain fireplaces and tiled stoves to install soot filters. Modern wood combustion installations are already relatively low in particulate emissions. The “Blue Angel” eco-label identifies wood pellet stoves and boilers that feature particularly low emissions.
The limit values for the pollutants particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, which have adverse effects on health, were also exceeded in 2008. Particulate matter concentrations at 19 of the total of 421 measuring stations exceeded the limit value more frequently than the permissible 35 days. Yet, particulate matter pollution was relatively low, as it already was in 2007. This was largely due to favourable weather conditions.
Human activities not only increase atmospheric concentrations of the familiar greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), they also cause the release of other greenhouse gases. For some years now, measurement data from the Federal Environment Agency’s air monitoring stations show an accelerated rise in sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) levels in the atmosphere, and a current publication also shows such rise for nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). One tonne of these gases has a global warming potential 10,000-fold that of a tonne of CO2.