WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1488/96 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Athens tops league of 15 European cities for air pollution
Date: 1996-06-12
Institutions: ALAVANOS, European Parliament
Subjects: Greece, air quality, atmospheric pollutant, capital city, motor vehicle pollution, oxide, ozone, pollution control measures, quality of the environment













EUR-Lex - 91996E1488 - EN






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91996E1488

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1488/96 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Athens tops league of 15 European cities for air pollution  


Official Journal C 322 , 28/10/1996 P. 0074 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1488/96 by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (12 June 1996)Subject: Athens tops league of 15 European cities for air pollutionAn EU-subsidized survey of 15 European cities carried out under the 'Environment 1991-1994' programme has found that Athens has the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide and ozone.The average nitrogen dioxide level is 206 microgrammes in the summer and 170 microgrammes in the winter (in second place is Barcelona with 127 mgr in summer and 114 mgr in winter), while ozone levels reach 186 mgr in summer and 82 in winter (in second place comes Rotterdam with 122 and 52 respectively).1. Can the Commission provide the detailed comparative findings of the research and data on the effectiveness of existing measures to combat smog, and2. where those measures are deemed to be ineffective, can it say what other methods could be used to deal with this complex problem?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission (30 July 1996)The detailed comparative data from the survey to which the Honourable Member refers, which shows particularly high levels of pollution in Athens, is currently being analysed. It should be published in the 'Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health' by the end of this year.However, the figures can only confirm that Athens, because of both geographical and economic factors, is the European city with the most serious pollution problems.The study on air quality undertaken under the auto-oil programme, looking into ways of reducing road traffic emissions, showed that measures adopted at Community level had a more limited effectiveness in Athens compared with other cities studied under the programme.By way of illustration, the measures already adopted will lead to a reduction in nitrogen oxides emitted by road traffic averaging 35% for European cities between 1990 and 2010. However, mainly due to the slow process of replacing vehicles with the oldest technology with more recent vehicles, forecasting models indicate that nitrogen oxide emissions would increase in Athens over the same period. The proposals adopted following the auto-oil programme would give a further reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions of 39% compared with the base figure, averaged over European cities. The reduction would be only 19% in Athens, although a 50% cut is needed to achieve Community air quality targets.Clearly, to achieve these objectives, the Greek authorities will have to supplement Community measures with local measures, such as improved public transport, the marketing of special reformulated fuels or general measures to update the vehicle fleet. All these measures can be implemented in ways which are both economical, effective and compatible with Community rules.