Pollution control - Air General
The Council has a variety of tools which enable it to investigate and where appropiate improve the quality of air in South Shropshire. These include:
- Local Air Quality Management (reviews of 7 air pollutants)
- Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (controls on certain industries)
- Clean Air Act (certain chimney heights, dark smoke emissions)
- Environmental Protection Act (odour, smoke and dust nuisances)
The Council does not have any powers over emissions from vehicles on the highway, or for certain activities regulated by the Environment Agency (typically large industrial concerns).
Local Air Quality Management
The Council has a duty to review and assess seven air pollutants against health based objectives set by governments expert advisors.
Where objectives are unlikely to be met the Council has to declare an Air Quality Management Area with the aim of reducing air pollution.
In Shropshire all the District Councils and Telford and Wrekin Council have worked in partnership over a number of years to carry out the reviews and assessments and have produced joint reports.
Link to Air Quality Management Pages
Industrial Air Pollution Control
Certain industrial installations are regulated directly by the Council because they have the potential to emit certain air pollutants. These installations have permits to operate issued by the Council which specify conditions aimed at reducing emissions.
Applications for new installations, or substantial changes to existing installations, are advertised by the operators in the local press and comments on applications are welcome.
A public register of the installations regulated by the Council is available for viewing at the Council's offices.
Link to Part B Installation Pages
Clean Air Act
Certain industrial furnaces and boilers that are above a size defined in the Clean Air Act 1993 are required, before they first become operational, to have the height of the chimney serving the plant approved by the Council. This is known as a Chimney Height Approval and is designed to ensure that ground level concentrations of pollutants are acceptable.
Link to Chimney Height Approval page
The emission of dark smoke from a trade or industrial premises, which includes farmland and building sites, is an offence under the Clean Air Act. Where emissions of dark smoke are occuring these should be reported to the Pollution team for investigation.
Other Air Pollution
The Council has powers over other sources of air pollution which may give rise to a nuisance or where dark smoke is emitted, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or Clean Air Act 1993.
The Council has very few powers over pollution from road vehicles. Smokey commercial vehicles may be reported to the Vehicle Inspectorate
Link to Report a Smokey Vehicle page
Further Advice
Advice on air pollution is available from the pollution team
Other Useful Links
www.uwe.ac.uk/aqm/centre/mindex.html
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/index.html
See these pages for related information:
- Pollution control - Air Quality Management
- Pollution control - Chimney Height Approval
- Pollution control - contaminated land
- Pollution control - Report a Smokey Vehicle
- Pollution control - noise
- Air Pollution Application Forms
- Pollution control - Part B Installations
- Pollution control - Light Pollution
- Pollution control - Water Pollution
- Drainage
- Drinking Water Quality
- Environmental information regulations
- Leaflets Held By The Pollution Team
- Nuisances
- Public Registers Held By The Pollution Team
- Pesticide spraying
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Subscribe to changes to this page here.Author: Pollution Team. Last Updated: 3/11/2006.
