Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.

com, ISSN 1743-3541

A theoretical perspective on air quality

management in the United Kingdom
J.W.S. Longhurst," D.M. Elsom"
* Department of Environmental Health and Science, University of
the
\
' Quality Management Research Group, Geography Department,

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the development of a theoretical perspective on air quality
management and the establishment of a series of theoretical principles of air quality
management. In common with a number of other advanced nations the UK is embarked upon
a programme to improve air quality. This paper reviews and assesses the theoretical
underpinnings of air quality management and within this context considers the effectiveness of
the UK programme. It considers the management principles introduced by the Environment Act,
1995, and examines some of the anticipated difficulties of implementing and practising air
quality management in the U.K.

Introduction

This paper is concerned with the development of a theoretical perspective on

air quality management and the establishment of a series of theoretical
principles of air quality management. It is timely to consider the theory of air
quality management as a number of nations, including the UK, are developing
a new air quality management framework [1, 2, 3]. The impetus for this
change has been the gradual recognition that policies and tools developed for
the reduction of visible air pollution, typified by winter time pollution due to
dark smoke and sulphur dioxide emissions from domestic and industrial coal
burning sources, were no longer appropriate for the management of air quality,
particularly in cities. Whilst the UK can rightly claim a successful application
of policy in regard to smoke pollution it is no longer an appropriate policy
response for contemporary problems. Modern nation states now confront quite
different air quality challenges when compared to the situation appertaining 30
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

26 Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management

years ago. Contemporary problems are associated with the emissions of a

variety of primary pollutants, with numerous and varied sources, many of which
undergo subsequent chemical transformations into secondary pollutants. Hence,
a control framework, based largely on source emission controls and dilute and
disperse approaches [4] did not have the policy tools to provide an effective
response this more complex air quality situation. In the UK different emission
sources tended to be controlled by separate government Departments and their
associated agencies. This resulted in a fragmented approach to air pollution
control which was particularly noticeable at the local scale [1,5]. Asa result
of this and increasing public concern, a new solution was sought which could
make more effective use of air quality control mechanisms in an integrated and
holistic manner. A framework for the integration of such a local air quality
management approach has been developed and enshrined within the
Environment Act, 1995 [6] and a National Air Quality Strategy [3] will
implement this new framework. This paper will examine the new framework
within a theoretical framework of air quality management and test the
principles of the National Air Quality Strategy against theoretical principles.

Theoretical issues in air quality management

Recent works by the authors have developed the theoretical perspective on air
quality management and have started the process of identification and
codification of the principles of air quality management [1,5,7,8,9].

The effectiveness of the framework being introduced in the U.K. must be

considered from the theoretical perspective of the processes which actually
controls or exert influence upon air quality [8,9]. In theory, and viewed from
an anthropogenic perspective, prevailing air quality is a function of four
variables: meteorology and climatology; geography and topography; urban
form; and emission source density and intensity. Meteorological and
climatological variables are outside of our managerial capability. Geographical
or spatial variables are important in determining air quality particularly in
relation to incoming air quality, which, in turn, is a function of emission
sources and air circulation patterns. Topography whilst amenable to human
intervention is, in the absence of human activity, a variable changing over a
long time scale. Urban form is a function of topography and economic
development factors. Its shape will change over timescales relevant to humans.
The shape can be directly influenced by managerial action over relatively short
periods of time but significant changes occur over the medium to long term.
The spatial scale of the urban form is important in determining the nature and
extent of air quality. Of these variables the one most directly amenable to
human managerial intervention is that of emissions. The density of emission
sources and the intensity of releases from individual sources can be affected by
a variety of direct and indirect actions. Hence, theory suggests that air quality
management has to address the density and intensity of emission sources if the
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management 27

desired outcomes are to be achieved. Such a response will require the

management of the urban environment and the processes affecting its
development.

Principles of air quality management

The four key principles of air quality management are emissions, impacts, cost
- benefit analysis and controls. These are established and expressed within a
scientific evaluatory context. Thus, air quality management is concerned with
the emission and impact of air pollutants released from human sources. The
effect of the release is scientifically evaluated to determine effects based
standards which provide a high degree of protection. Human health and
environmental protection standards which result are implemented by action
targeted at sources identified in a cost - benefit analysis. The cost of control
must be met by the polluter. The application of the principles is dynamic
allowing feedback via the scientific evaluation stage to influence the standards
setting and cost - benefit analysis stages of the process.

The acceptance of these principles indicates that not all forms of

environmental damage due to air pollution can be or will be controlled. Thus
air quality management is the acceptance that some damage will occur and
hence, it is not pollution prevention but the management of releases and their
resultant concentrations in the atmosphere at levels determined to be
economically and politically acceptable.

The concept and application of local air quality management

There are several distinct strategies for the control of air quality which can be
used in isolation or as package to provide a response to national or regional
requirements and philosophies [4]. The general concept of air quality
management is one that has been developing over recent years although there
is no universally agreed definition of local air quality management in use in
relation to the United Kingdom. Several definitioms have been offered; Laxen
[10] considers local air quality management to be "the application of a
systematic approach to the control of air quality issues". A fuller definition
would need to incorporate aspects of integration, co-operation and
communication in a system designed to consider air quality in a holistic way.
It may be argued that the definition of the US State Implementation Plan (SIP)
as "ongoing documents which provide a regulatory framework for each state to
demonstrate to the federal government that they are on a path to attaining and
maintaining the national ambient air quality standards" [11] comes closest to
a definition of air quality management in a procedural sense. Griffin [11] sees
air quality management as comprising five continuous steps; definition;
planning; control; implementation; and evaluation. Air quality management,
however defined, is a relatively new concept for European states and it is
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

28 Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management

therefore, important to explore the differences between the theory and the
practice of a nation state, especially at the local scale.

A theoretical framework for air quality management

Whilst air quality management can be, and is, applied at the level of the nation
state, the spatial scale at which the issues are most acute is that of the
municipality or local authority. Hence, the application of air quality
management needs to be responsive to local factors, flexible so as to allow
modifications due to new knowledge about emissions or concentrations yet
structured so as to provide a suitable framework within which all groups
concerned with, and influencing air quality, can co-exist. Such plans require the
involvement of agencies at a number of levels including those at the local level.
These plans should enable local decision makers to choose the combination of
measures appropriate to local circumstances. This would enable a desirable
level of air quality to be achieved which would be within the requirements of
regional, national and international regulations and plans. Air quality
management at the local scale would thus ideally be a tier of a regional plan
which is in turn part of a national plan. Air quality management plans can be
tailored to the requirements of a local area, as with the US SIP system [12].
Within this framework the following basic elements can be included: emissions;
modelling and monitoring. In addition, air quality management provides
opportunities for setting local air quality targets or guidelines, new possibilities
for public information and education and new mechanisms for the integration
of a wide range of local and national policies. A further essential component
of air quality management is the set of procedures for dealing with the
occasional occurrence of very poor air quality. The operation of a successful
air quality management system requires a set of mutually agreed goals and a
shared vision amongst the various agencies involved. A theoretical framework
and its guiding principles is set out in Table 1.

This theoretical framework provides a mechanism which would enable

local decision-makers to select the appropriate policy responses to particular
local air quality problems, consequently subsidiarity is at the heart of air quality
management. In theory the process of air quality management should be
viewed as a system, with feedback loops, comprising of a series of discrete,
linked, operational units.

The introduction of a new framework for air quality

management

Nation states like the U.K. have responded to the contemporary air quality
problems by examining the potential of new systems for air quality control. As
early as 1990, the Government [13] introduced the basis for a new direction
for air quality control. This was intended to build upon the existing
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management 29

technology-based controls by adding an effects-based approach through the

formulation of a series of air quality standards (AQS) to provide a framework
in which the environmental gains from regulation could be assessed. Further
developments included consultation on air quality monitoring and management
issues culminating in the publication of a strategic policy framework for
future air quality in 1995 [14]. The main points of this framework have since
been incorporated within the Environment Act, 1995 [6] which introduces the
concept of air quality management into the UK regulatory framework.

The Act sets a range of new responsibilities for local government. Firstly,
they will be required to carry out periodic reviews of air quality to include both
current and projected future levels of air quality. These reviews will be assessed
in relation to a number of national AQSs within which air quality must
maintained. Where an area does not, or is not likely to, achieve these
standards, local authorities are required to create Air Quality Management
Areas (AQMAs) and develop an action plan as a means by which air quality
will be brought within the national standards.

In 1997, the Government published a National Air Quality Strategy [3]

setting out its preferred mechanism of implementing air quality management in
the UK. In a number of important respects implementation has been devolved
to the local authority, allowing for greater powers to supplement national
policies and integrate separate agencies in order to provide a balanced approach
to air quality management. In order to assess the likely impact of the
implementation of the National Air Quality Strategy it is useful to assess the
degree to which the main points of the theoretical framework above are to be
implemented and to consider how the theoretical principles of air quality
management find expression in the strategy. Table 2 presents a comparison of
the theory and practice of air quality management implementation in the UK
and identifies a number of important issues in respect of the translation of
National Air Quality Strategy policy into practice.

The theoretical principles of air quality management are interpreted and

presented in the National Air Quality Strategy and Table 3 presents a
comparison of the theory and practice of air quality as exemplified by the
National Air Quality Strategy.
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

30 Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management

Table 1: A theoretical perspective on air quality management

Goals and Objectives Clear policy goals are essential and must flow from the requirement to attain
or maintain national air quality standards. Hence the overriding policy goal is the maintenance of public
health. The objectives must be jointly owned by participating agencies various national, regional and local
actors and lead to the attainment of policy goals. A flexible, evolutionary process is required.
Emissions Emissions are the key managerial variable under the direct control of air
quality managers. The species of concern will be identified from effects based standards and the range of
sources at the local, regional and national level which contribute to air pollution in a local area will be
determined by emission inventory approaches. Sources will include industrial, transport and domestic.
Monitoring The availability of monitored concentration data with which to assess current
air quality and the impacts of policy implementation is an essential precondition. National air quality
monitoring programs may be used to check compliance with AQS and policy goals. The existing monitoring
provision of an area needs to be evaluated in the light of the policy aims and objectives. The existing
monitoring capability should not dictate the form of the air quality management response.
Standards and Guidelines Minimum standards are set by the EU or nation state but local decision
makers may select alternative more stringent standards to work towards. These may include WHO guidelines.
The legislative position is dynamic and standards at national and EU level are being re-evaluated and new
recommendations being made. In addition, new species are being introduced into the standards setting
procedure. The needs of the public and their ability to interpret the information effectively must be
considered. In this context, effective information is defined as that which would allow the receiver to make
an informed judgement of the air quality situation and thereby make personal decisions about undertaking
certain activities and actions.
Simulation Modelling Simulation modelling provides the ability to assess current and potential future
air quality in order to enable informed policy decisions to be made. Current emissions and monitoring data
can be used to validate an emissions and dispersion model which can then be used to forecast future changes
based upon a range of 'what if scenarios. The model is the key to assessing future local air quality
management needs and responses.
Public Information The public must be involved in goal setting and should be informed in
accessible ways of the development of the plan and its success in improving air quality. Clear information
is needed about how the public can complain about air quality. In this way, public information will help in
allowing the public to become involved in identifying problems and implementing solutions. The
dissemination of routine air quality information and the occasional poor air quality alert will require a variety
of techniques to be deployed. These include the electronic transmission and hard copy release of poor air
quality alert information to agencies cooperating in managing the response, for example, health authorities
and highway agencies and to the local and national press, television and radio to warn sensitive individuals.
Routine information can be supplied to public visual display units in libraries and other places of public
congregation.
Air Quality Alert A set of procedures to deal with the occasional acute occurrence of very poor
air quality is required. The various agencies involved must decide and agree upon a number of threshold
concentrations at which an alert system would be triggered and the nature and priority of the procedures to
be carried out in response to it. The alert procedures should be developed in such a way that they represent
an incremental response to a developing problem. The response of the air quality manager to a potential
episode of poor air quality will be to attempt to stop the forecast materialising by modifying emissions of
air pollutants both within the local area and over a wider scale by cooperation with other air quality
managers. Should this fail then attempts could be made to minimise the peak concentration and the duration
of poor air quality by progressively more stringent restrictions on polluting activities. The range and scope
of the restrictions available will have been previously agreed between the planning agent and the
participating agencies responsible for the development of the plan thus enabling a rapid response.
Simultaneously, a series of health warnings to the public will be issued to provide general advice to the
public at large as well as advising sensitive individuals of actions to take to minimise their personal risk.
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management 31

Planning and Air Quality Management The air quality plan must be an agreed procedure by which
air quality goals are progressively achieved across a specified time period. This period is, by necessity, long
term. The long timescale means that the land use and transport plans can be integrated within an air quality
management framework and the projected outcomes of the land use and transport plans tested within its
framework. Air quality management becomes a means for integrating and testing alternatives and for
reconciling economic development, land use and transport policies with air quality goals.

Sources [ 1,5,8,9]

Evaluating theory and practice in a UK context

It would be foolish to assume that a theoretical structure could be implemented

in practice without compromise and change. It is however, important to
consider the nature of such change and to evaluate the consequence of such
change for the purpose of air quality management. A theoretical framework
(Table 1) provides an idealised system where coherence and integrity of
purpose are demonstrated and the conflict of air quality policy with other policy
or policies, whilst acknowledged as a possibility, are assumed to be have been
resolved.

In the real world of air quality management practice, where implementation

of an air quality policy package abuts and conflicts with a range of policies in
the field of economic development, transport and land use, tensions will be
explicit and the primary purpose of the air quality policy package will be at
risk from compromise solutions. The resolution of such tensions will not be
easy and will clearly not always conform to the theoretical principles
enunciated above.

The practice of urban air quality management in the U.K. will be linked
to the land use development plans prepared under the various Town and
Country Planning Acts and to the transport policy and programme package
process [8]. Whilst national policy measures, such as vehicle emissions,
economic instruments and emission standards will contribute to the attainment
of an AQS the main effort to improve air quality in an area of poor air quality
at risk of breaching air quality standards will come from the local level through
the designation of an air quality management area.

The implementation of the air quality management policy package within

the air quality management area will be the key test of how well the
theoretical principles and structure of air quality management sits within the
overall policy and implementation framework of central and local government.
For it is in such areas that the solutions to air quality problems will be most
clearly identifiable and the conflicts, potential or actual, will equally be most
visible. The strength of the proponents of various policy packages within a
local authority and the range of duties and obligations the authority has, will
determine the overall policy outcome and the method of implementation.
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

32 Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management

Table 2: Theory and practice in air quality management

Theoretical Issues and Problems in Translating Theory Practical Activity or Guidance

Component to Practice
Goals and Embedding a policy framework within
Objectives existing structures and resolving policy
tensions.
Setting a flexible approach to air quality
management
Emissions Provision of high quality ,spatially
disaggregated, time dated, emissions data
for screening and modelling purpose. Cost
considerations, data availability and
compatibility questions
Monitoring How to use monitoring data in assessing
and reviewing current and future air quality
against standards. Questions of: spatial and
temporal resolution; data quality;
usability and cost.
Standards and Human health effect based. How do other
Guidelines components of the environment (material,
ecosystems) gain consideration? Compliance
costs?
Risk of fossilisation of standards through
slow response to emerging epidemiology/
human health impacts data.
Simulation Complexity, reliability, cost and competency
Modelling questions.
Public Information Trust and reliability; effectiveness of
message.
Air Quality Alert Strict procedures for managing an event of
very poor air quality. Significant potential
for policy / implementation disagreement
and conflict. Possibly compromising ability
to make and implement decisions.
Questions of public acceptability where
personal mobility is restrained.
Planning and Air Gains in air quality will be realised through Consultation Papers: Local
Quality integrating air quality management into the Authority Circular on Air
land use and transport planning. Air quality Quality and Land Use Planning;
policies will be difficult to integrate into Local Authority Circular on Air
these decision making processes.
on Implementation in UK
National Air Quality Strategy
Consultation Paper: Developing
Local Air Quality Strategies
and Action Plans. Guidance
Note: General Principles of
Reviewing and Assessing Air
Quality
Publication of the West
Midlands Atmospheric
Emissions Inventory
Guidance Note: General
Principles of Reviewing and
Assessing Air Quality
Consultation Paper: Developing
Local Air Quality Strategies
and Action Plans.
Consultations on: The Air
Quality Regulations 1997;
Review of Local Authority
Powers; Implications of the
Nitrogen Dioxide Report from
EPAQS.
No specific guidance issued yet.
Consultation: Air Quality Public
Information System for the UK
No specific guidance
Q u a l i t y and Traffic
Management.
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management 33

Table 3: Air quality principles in the National Air Quality Strategy

Principles set out in the Commentary

National Air Quality Strategy
Sustainability The air quality management process must contribute to the
attainment of sustainable development
Health Based Environmental quality objectives proportionate to risk are set.
Risk assessment Exposure assessments are used to set objectives.
Sound Science International robust and peer reviewed science provides the
context of risk assessment.
Proportionality Measures proposed should be proportionate to their outco me
determined via cost benefit analysis.
Polluter Pays The costs of measures taken to manage air quality should be
reflected in the cost of polluting goods and services.
Precautionary Principle Where risk is judged potentially great then action should be
taken even where scientific knowledge is not conclusive.
Subsidiarity Measures should be taken at the most appropriate level.

Conclusions

A theoretical framework and a set of principles for local air quality

management in the UK has been presented and a discussion of the various
components involved has been offered. The means of developing and
implementing air quality management in the UK, especially at the municipal
scale is now in place through the Environment Act 1995 and the National Air
Quality Strategy. It is recognised that there will be difficulties in attempting
to introduce air quality management policies into an existing policy package
and that, inevitably, compromise and pragmatic responses delivering some
gains, if not all that the theoretical principles promised, will be introduced.
This emphasises the need for an integrated approach and the importance of
action at the local scale, particularly within partnerships. There remains a need
to incorporate air quality management principles within the policy packages and
processes of a range of central and local government departments and agencies,
such that air quality becomes not an additional issue, to be considered at the
conclusion of an economic or transport policy debate, but an issue which
provides a context for the determination of other policy packages. This position,
conforming to the principles of air quality management is arguably some way
off and it may be speculated that the early phase of air quality management in
the UK will have limited coherence with the theoretical principles. However,
as air quality management develops and becomes a central component of other
policy making processes greater coherence with theoretical principles may be
expected. The timescale over which this may occur can not, at present, be
anticipated.
 Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541

34 Air Pollution Modelling, Monitoring and Management

Key words: Air quality management , Theory, Principles, UK.

References

1. Longhurst, J.W.S., Lindley, S.J., Watson, A.F.R. & Conlan, D.E. The
introduction of local air quality management in the United Kingdom. A review
and theoretical framework. Atmospheric Environment, 1996, 30 (23) 3975-
3985 .
2. Elsom, D. M. & Longhurst, J.W.S. Assessment of the first phase of the
U.K. national air quality strategy. In Tirabassi, T., Power, H. & Brebbia, C.
(Eds) Air Pollution V CMP, Southampton, 1997.
3. H.M. Government The United Kingdom National Air Quality Strategy CM
3587, The Stationery Office, London, 1997
4. Elsom, D.M. Atmospheric Pollution : A Global Problem, 2nd Edition,
Blackwell, Oxford, 1992.
5. Longhurst, J.W.S., Lindley, SJ. and Conlan, D.E. Advances in local air
quality management in the United Kingdom. In Power, H., Moussiopoulos,
N. & Brebbia, C.A., (Eds) Air Pollution Engineering and Management, Air
Pollution III Vol 2. CMP, Southampton, 1995, pp 465-475.
6. H.M. Government. The Environment Act. HMSO, London, 1995.
7. Elsom , D.M. Smog Alert: Managing Urban Air Quality Earthscan, London,
1996.
8. Longhurst, J.W.S. Transport and local air quality management in the U.K.
In Baldasano, J.M. & Sucharov, L. (Eds) Urban Transport and the Environment
//Computational Mechanics Publications, Southampton, 1996.
9. Longhurst, J.W.S. Some theoretical and practical issues associated with the
development of local air quality management in Great Britain. In Caussade,
B., Power, H. & Brebbia, C. (Eds) Air Pollution /K CMP, Southampton. 1996
pp 857 - 866.
10. Laxen, D. An Introduction to Local Air Quality Management. A supplement
to Clean Air 1993, 23, 12.
11. Griffin, R. D. Principles of Air Quality Management CRS Press, Florida,
1994 .
12. Godish, T. Air Quality 2nd Edition Lewis Publishers, Michagan, 1991.
13. H.M. Government. This Common Inheritance. Britain's Environmental
Strategy HMSO, London, 1990.
14. Department of the Environment Air Quality: Meeting the Challenge DoE,
London, 1995