Air quality and pollution were among the topics discussed during a public event organised by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) as part of an EU-funded project aiming to increase Malta’s capacity to comply with EU obligations in the field of air quality.

The meeting was chaired by Louis Vella.

Nadine Axisa, who works in the air quality section of the Pollution Prevention and Control Unit of Mepa, described the obligations that Malta is required to fulfil in order to be compliant with EU legislation in the field of air quality, and the country’s progress in implementation through the development of the local air monitoring network.

Margaret Azzopardi, who works in the inspectorate in the Pollution Prevention and Control Unit, explained that in Malta there are a number of particular factors that aggravate air pollution. These include low rainfall and high solar radiation, and limited control technology in small and medium industries such as bakeries and factories, low chimneys and a large quantity of ageing vehicles without catalytic converters.

The role of the Mepa inspectorate is to investigate complaints where checks are typically carried out on the type of emissions, fuel quality and control technology. The inspectorate strives to achieve rapid compliance and adequate control of the emissions.

In difficult cases, the police are advised to prosecute polluters. Other government agencies, such as the ADT, which conducts regular emissions tests on vehicles, play a vital role in enforcing the law.

Mepa works with various stakeholders, including, the Health Department and its inspectors, local councils and other government departments and agencies, to monitor air pollution incidents and to implement measures that reduce pollution and its impacts. Dr Karen Vincenti from the Health, the Elderly and Community Care Ministry talked about the health effects of air pollution.

Mepa maintains an air-monitoring network consisting of real time monitoring stations, which are located at sites with different characteristics, such as traffic, sub-urban and background sites. These are situated in Floriana, Msida, Kordin and Zejtun. The background site will be located in Gozo.

According to Mepa director-general Godwin Cassar, this network would not have been possible without the support of EU funds, namely the European Regional Develop-ment Fund. This financed the procurement of two air monitoring stations, worth almost e0.5 million, and the Transitional Facility programme for Malta 2004, which provided over e190,000 for the third station, which is expected to be commissioned at the beginning of next year and will be located in Gozo.

Apart from sulphur and nitrogen dioxide, ozone and volatile organic compounds, the stations also measure carbon monoxide and particulate matter. Data collected through the monitoring network is analysed using state-of-the art software.

Additionally, the diffusion tube network installed in 44 councils provides a spatial representation of various pollutants.

Dr Michael Nolle, who works on the Mepa air-monitoring programme, showed the progressive reduction of benzene and sulphur dioxide since 2000 to date. This reduction is attributed to national policy measures such as the switch to cleaner fuel and unleaded petrol. However, Dr Nolle also highlighted the problems related to particulate matter (PM10) and ozone.

Remy Bouscaren, a French expert who has been advising Mepa on air quality regulation and monitoring matters as part of the EU-funded twinning light project, talked about measures to minimise air pollution. These range from policy measures to minimise emissions from cars, construction activities or agriculture, to simple principles that individuals may adopt in everyday life decisions, such as deciding which product to buy or how to reduce energy consumption or minimise waste.

Another French twinning expert, Alain Target, talked about how the public is being informed about air quality matters in France. He highlighted the importance of providing timely, accurate and relevant information and said that people, especially the younger generations, are becoming increasingly more aware of the importance of the quality of the air they breathe. Mepa is developing a system to provide information on air pollution concentrations in a comprehensive manner to the public.

Mepa is to publish up-to-date information on the state of air quality on its website www.mepa.org.mt Air quality issues will gradually gain prominence on the public agenda, in turn prompting parliament to enact measures that will reduce air pollution and safeguard public health.

Anyone interested in the subject is invited to visit the website, which also contains links to previous studies and reports, including the State of the Environment Report for Malta, 2005.