New European directive on air quality monitoring: LCSQA experts mobilized at all times

This new directive, which will be published in the next few weeks in the Official Journal of the European Union, represents a major step forward in the fight against air pollution and the strengthening of air quality monitoring systems across the Member States.

It aims to modernize European monitoring standards, incorporating the latest scientific knowledge to improve air quality monitoring.

“The implementation of this new directive marks a turning point in the way we approach air quality monitoring in Europe,” says Marc Durif Executive Director of LCSQA. “For several years, the experts at IMT-Nord Europe, Ineris and LNE have been working tirelessly on this issue, and we are delighted to have been able to contribute to this text, which will improve the monitoring system and provide a more effective response to the problems of air pollution, a public health and environmental priority”.

Once it has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, member states will have two years to transpose it into national law.

• Air Quality Directive: Council gives final go-ahead for tighter EU standards

Impact of the new European directive on air quality monitoring

In line with the revision of the guide values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), to be published in 2021, and as part of the European “zero pollution” objective for 2050, European directives 2004/104/EC and 2008/50/EC on air quality have been merged and their provisions revised. The text adopted imposes major changes in terms of the regulatory air quality standards to be met, monitoring methods and public information. These changes will require significant adaptation of the national legislative and regulatory corpus concerned.

New regulatory air quality standards

The future directive will make current regulatory air quality standards more stringent, particularly for particulate matter (_PM10, PM2_.5), nitrogen dioxide (_NO2), ozone (_O3), and other pollutants such as heavy metals, B[a]P or benzene (_C6H6).

By 2030, limit values will have to come significantly closer to the most stringent guide values recommended by the WHO, with the aim of complete alignment by 2050. For certain situations meeting very specific criteria and governed at European level, requests may be made to postpone the 2030 deadline.

These new targets will be subject to regular review from December 31, 2030, and every five years thereafter, taking into account the latest scientific information available, to ensure alignment by 2050 at the latest with the latest recommendations published by the World Health Organization (WHO).

New assessment thresholds and zoning

Air quality monitoring is based on a system proportionate to the issues at stake, taking into account pollution levels and the number of inhabitants in France's 71 monitoring zones. The assessment thresholds that determine the monitoring methods to be used have been lowered, requiring the use of more precise and continuous measurement methods in some zones, but making them more cumbersome to implement.
In addition, to take account of the fact that in some of the most extensive zones, limit values could still be exceeded in 2030 despite the introduction of forward-looking emission control scenarios, discussions are underway to adapt zoning as closely as possible to air quality issues.

Greater use of modeling

Modelling tools, already used to map pollutant concentrations in order to assess the populations and vegetation areas exposed to exceedances of limit or target values, will see their use extended. They will be used to determine the zones of representativeness of measurement points, and to locate any exceedances of limit values outside these zones. If measurements are not carried out to confirm or rule out these exceedances, the Member State may decide to use the modelled concentrations to assess air quality.

“Measurement “supersites

The future directive introduces “super sites” designed to collect long-term data, to better understand the effects of pollutants on health and the environment. These data will contribute to the periodic review of pollutants to be monitored and associated thresholds. In France, a dozen “super sites” will be set up in areas representative of rural and urban background pollution.

They will house a variety of instruments to analyze parameters such as particle chemistry, soot carbon, ultrafine dust, _NH3 or the oxidizing potential of particles, indicative of certain health effects. In addition to these “super sites”, ultrafine dust and soot carbon will be measured in the vicinity of sources such as ports and airports, major roads, industries and residential heating.

Public information

New in relation to existing provisions in France, the future directive introduces new information and alert thresholds for PM2_.5, requiring immediate information and/or management actions to be taken if levels are exceeded. It also imposes an hourly air quality index based on the European index currently under revision.

Some of these changes have already been anticipated in France, with the deployment in recent years of the ultrafine dust and soot carbon monitoring network. However, the complete adaptation of the monitoring system remains a major undertaking. Its reinforcement will nonetheless enable us to target actions more precisely and keep the public better informed about air quality.

To find out more...

LCSQA: appointed by the French Ministry of the Environment, the Laboratoire central de surveillance de la qualité de l'air (LCSQA) is responsible for the technical coordination of air quality monitoring in France.

AQUILA: European network of national reference laboratories for air quality. Led by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, it develops methodologies and recommendations designed to harmonize air quality measurements carried out by member states in application of European directives. It also coordinates measurement data quality assurance and control activities at European level.

FAIRMODE: European forum for air quality modeling. Chaired by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, it brings together national modeling experts to promote the harmonized use of modeling by member states. Like AQUILA, FAIRMODE develops guides and recommendations on the use of modeling within the framework of European directives on air quality.