2015 air quality updating and screening assessment · newcastle city council updating and screening...

2015 Air Quality

Updating and Screening

Assessment:

Newcastle City Council

September 2015

Newcastle City Council Updating and Screening Assessment

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J2304 /1/F1 11 September 2015 Final Report Prof. Duncan Laxen (Managing Director)

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J2304 1 of 56 September 2015

Executive Summary

This report fulfils the requirements of the Local Air Quality Management process as set out in Part

IV of the Environment Act (1995), the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland 2007 and the relevant Policy and Technical Guidance documents.

This document is Newcastle City Council’s fifth Updating and Screening Assessment (USA).

Results from monitoring by the Council are presented and sources of air pollution are identified.

The USA determines those changes since the last assessment that could lead to the risk of an air

quality objective being exceeded.

This Updating and Screening Assessment confirms that air quality within the City of Newcastle

continues to meet the relevant air quality objectives at locations of relevant exposure, with the

exception of locations within the City Centre Air Quality Management Area (AQMA). Within the

City Centre AQMA there are continued exceedences of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide

objective. The City Centre AQMA will therefore be retained in its present form. Results from

monitoring locations within the Gosforth AQMA were all below the objective in 2014, however, it is

considered appropriate to retain the Gosforth AQMA and only consider revoking it when the

concentrations fall further below the objective. There is no requirement to proceed to a Detailed

Assessment for any pollutant.

The Updating and Screening Assessment has not identified any significant changes in emissions

sources within the Newcastle area. There have been no new relevant industrial installations and

no new significant commercial, domestic or fugitive sources of emissions.



Contents

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 5

1.1. Description of Local Authority Area .................................................................................. 5

1.2. Purpose of Report ............................................................................................................ 5

1.3. Air Quality Objectives ....................................................................................................... 5

1.4. Summary of Previous Review and Assessments ............................................................. 7

2 New Monitoring Data .................................................................................................... 10

2.1. Summary of Monitoring Undertaken............................................................................... 10

2.2. Comparison of Monitoring Results with AQ Objectives.................................................. 18

3 Road Traffic Sources ................................................................................................... 33

3.1. Narrow Congested Streets with Residential Properties Close to the Kerb .................... 33

3.2. Busy Streets Where People May Spend 1-hour or More Close to Traffic...................... 33

3.3. Roads with a High Flow of Buses and/or HGVs. ............................................................ 33

3.4. Junctions ........................................................................................................................ 33

3.5. New Roads Constructed or Proposed Since the Last Round of Review and

Assessment .................................................................................................................... 34

3.6. Roads with Significantly Changed Traffic Flows ............................................................ 34

4 Other Transport Sources ............................................................................................. 35

4.1. Airports ........................................................................................................................... 35

4.2. Railways (Diesel and Steam Trains) .............................................................................. 35

4.3. Ports (Shipping) .............................................................................................................. 35

5 Industrial Sources ........................................................................................................ 36

5.2. Major Fuel (Petrol) Storage Depots................................................................................ 36

5.3. Petrol Stations ................................................................................................................ 36

5.4. Poultry Farms ................................................................................................................. 37

6 Commercial and Domestic Sources ........................................................................... 38

6.1. Biomass Combustion – Individual Installations .............................................................. 38

6.2. Biomass Combustion – Combined Impacts ................................................................... 40

6.3. Domestic Solid-Fuel Burning .......................................................................................... 40

7 Fugitive or Uncontrolled Sources............................................................................... 41

8 Conclusions and Proposed Actions .......................................................................... 42

8.1. Conclusions from New Monitoring Data ......................................................................... 42

8.2. Conclusions from Assessment of Sources ..................................................................... 42

8.3. Proposed Actions ........................................................................................................... 42

9 References .................................................................................................................... 43

10 Appendices ................................................................................................................... 44



Tables

Table 1.1: Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of LAQM in England ...... 6

Table 2.1: Details of Automatic Monitoring Sites............................................................................. 12

Table 2.2: Details of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites ..................................................................... 15

Table 2.3: Results of Automatic Monitoring of Nitrogen Dioxide: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)

a ............................................................................................... 19

Table 2.4: Results of Automatic Monitoring for Nitrogen Dioxide: Comparison with 1-Hour Mean Objective (2010 – 2014) ................................................................................................. 20

Table 2.5: Results of Nitrogen Dioxide Diffusion Tubes in 2014 ..................................................... 21

Table 2.6: Results of Nitrogen Dioxide Diffusion Tubes (2010 to 2014) ......................................... 26

Table 2.7: Results of Automatic Monitoring of PM10: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014) ................................................................................................................. 28

Table 2.8: Results of Automatic Monitoring for PM10: Comparison with 24-hour mean Objective (2010 – 2014) ................................................................................................................. 29

Table 2.9: Results of Automatic Monitoring of benzene: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective ......................................................................................................................... 30

Table 2.10: Results of Automatic Monitoring of Ozone (2010 – 2014) a, b

....................................... 31

Table 2.11: Results of Automatic Monitoring for PM2.5: Comparison with Proposed Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)

a ............................................................................................... 31

Table A1.1: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data 2014 a ......................................................................... 45

Table A2.1: Bias Adjustment Factors from Local Co-location Studies ............................................ 49

Table A2.2: Application of National and Local Bias Adjustment Factors to Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data

a, b ......................................................................................................... 51

Table A2.3: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site ............................................................................................. 53

Table A2.4: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of PM10 annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site ............................................................................................................. 53

Table A2.5: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of PM2.5 annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site ............................................................................................................. 54

Table A2.6: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Pilgrim Street site ........................................................................................................... 54

Table A2.7: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Leazes Lane site ............................................................................................................ 55

Table A2.8: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Gosforth site ................................................................................................................... 56

Figures

Figure 1.1: Map of City Centre AQMA ................................................................................................ 8

Figure 1.2: Map of Gosforth AQMA .................................................................................................... 9

Figure 2.1: Map of Automatic Monitoring Sites................................................................................. 11

Figure 2.2: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Newcastle City Centre ................................ 13



Figure 2.3: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Gosforth ...................................................... 14

Figure 2.4: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Denton Burn ............................................... 14

Figure 2.5: Trends in Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations Measured at Automatic Monitoring Sites .............................................................................................................. 19

Figure 2.6: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Locations which Exceeded the Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Objective within the City Centre AQMA in 2014................................................ 24

Figure 2.7: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Locations which Exceeded the Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Objective within the Gosforth AQMA in 2014 .................................................... 25

Figure 2.8: Trends in Annual Mean PM10 Concentrations ................................................................ 29

Figure 2.9: Trend in PM2.5 Concentrations ....................................................................................... 32

Figure A2.1: National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factor Spreadsheet ................................... 50



1 Introduction

1.1. Description of Local Authority Area

Newcastle upon Tyne is a largely urban conurbation within the County of Tyne and Wear

(Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland), covering an area

of 112km2 and with a population of approximately 278,000. The City has a substantial road

and rail network incorporating a number of major roads, for example, the A1, and railway lines,

including the East Coast mainline.

The City also benefits from a comprehensive public transport network which includes the Tyne

and Wear Metro, a light railway network connecting the City with its neighbouring urban

centres, and Newcastle International Airport situated approximately 5 miles northwest of the

City. Cars continue to form the greatest pressure on the City’s roads, followed by passenger

carrying vehicles, commercial and heavy goods vehicles. The A1 and A167 continue to be

heavily used as crossing points over the River Tyne, which forms the southern boundary of

the City. The A69 and A167 tend to be the main routes used to the West with the A1058 being

heavily used to access the East of the City and the North Sea coast.

1.2. Purpose of Report

This report fulfils the requirements of the Local Air Quality Management process as set out in

Part IV of the Environment Act (1995), the Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales

and Northern Ireland 2007 and the relevant Policy and Technical Guidance documents. The

Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) process places an obligation on all local authorities to

regularly review and assess air quality in their areas, and to determine whether or not the air

quality objectives are likely to be achieved. Where exceedences are considered likely, the

local authority must then declare an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) and prepare an Air

Quality Action Plan (AQAP) setting out the measures it intends to put in place in pursuit of the

objectives.

The objective of this Updating and Screening Assessment is to identify any matters that have

changed which may lead to risk of an air quality objective being exceeded. A checklist

approach and screening tools are used to identify significant new sources or changes and

whether there is a need for a Detailed Assessment. The USA report should provide an update

of any outstanding information requested previously in Review and Assessment reports.

1.3. Air Quality Objectives

The air quality objectives applicable to LAQM in England are set out in the Air Quality

(England) Regulations 2000 (SI 928), The Air Quality (England) (Amendment) Regulations

2002 (SI 3043), and are shown in Table 1.1. This table shows the objectives in units of

micrograms per cubic metre g/m3 (milligrams per cubic metre, mg/m

3 for carbon monoxide)

with the number of exceedences in each year that are permitted (where applicable).



Table 1.1: Air Quality Objectives included in Regulations for the purpose of LAQM in England

Pollutant

Air Quality Objective Date to be achieved

by Concentration Measured as

Benzene 16.25 µg/m

3 Running annual mean 31.12.2003

5.00 µg/m3 Running annual mean 31.12.2010

1,3-Butadiene 2.25 µg/m3 Running annual mean 31.12.2003

Carbon

monoxide 10.0 mg/m

3 Running 8-hour mean 31.12.2003

Lead 0.5 µg/m

3 Annual mean 31.12.2004

0.25 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2008

Nitrogen

dioxide

200 µg/m3 not to be

exceeded more than 18

times a year

1-hour mean 31.12.2005

40 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2005

Particles

(PM10)

(gravimetric)

50 µg/m3, not to be


times a year

24-hour mean 31.12.2004

40 µg/m3 Annual mean 31.12.2004

Sulphur

dioxide



times a year

1-hour mean 31.12.2004



times a year

24-hour mean 31.12.2004



times a year

15-minute mean 31.12.2005



1.4. Summary of Previous Review and Assessments

Newcastle City Council completed its first round of review and assessment at the end of 2000.

The conclusion of the first round was that it was not necessary to declare any AQMAs.

The 2003 Updating and Screening Assessment (USA) concluded that the objectives for

carbon monoxide, lead, benzene, 1,3-butadiene and sulphur dioxide were unlikely to be

exceeded across the City and thus no further action was required. However, likely

exceedences of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective were identified in Newcastle City

Centre. The Council proceeded directly to the declaration of the AQMA for the City Centre in

April 2004, without the need for a Detailed Assessment (DA) for this area. The USA also

identified possible exceedences of both the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective and the

24-hour mean PM10 objective at a number of additional locations across the city and

recommended progression to a DA to assess the identified areas.

The subsequent 2005 DA concluded that with respect to nitrogen dioxide, it was necessary to

declare AQMAs for three additional areas: the A1058 Jesmond Road, the Blue House

Roundabout/Great North Road junction, and the Quayside. It was not deemed necessary to

declare AQMAs for the A189 Haddricks Mill/Station Road Junction or for the A186 Westgate

Road/Blenheim Street. Additionally, it was concluded that it was not necessary to declare any

AQMA for exceedences of the PM10 objectives.

A Further Assessment (FA) was carried out in 2005 which covered Newcastle City Centre, the

Quayside and Jesmond Road. It concluded that exceedences of the air quality objectives for

PM10 were unlikely, but exceedences of the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective were

predicted across a much wider area than that defined by three of the existing AQMAs

(excluding Blue House Roundabout). It was therefore recommended that additional monitoring

be carried out and that the boundaries of the three existing AQMAs be revised to encompass

a single area.

In February 2006, an Air Quality Action Plan was published which covered Newcastle City

Centre, excluding the Blue House Roundabout.

An additional FA was carried out in 2007 which concluded that the geographical extent of the

area where the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective was expected to be exceeded, was

likely to cover the majority of the City Centre and one of its main distributor roads. As a result,

the three previously declared AQMAs within the City Centre were consolidated into one larger

AQMA which was declared in April 2008. This is the new City Centre AQMA which is shown in

Figure 1.1.

The 2007 FA also confirmed that two main roads (the A189 and the B1318) running north of

the City centre towards Gosforth were exceeding the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective.

The roads in question converged upon an existing AQMA at Blue House roundabout. The

Council therefore decided to extend the Blue House Roundabout AQMA to incorporate the

aforementioned roads and declared the Gosforth AQMA in April 2008 (see Figure 1.2).



The council produced an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) in 2011 for the Gosforth AQMA. The

plan identified the difficulty in quantifying the effect of specific actions would have on air

pollution. It suggested that further feasibility work would be required prior to a decision being

made as to which measures would achieve an improvement in air quality.

The 2011 Progress Report (PR) concluded that annual mean concentrations of nitrogen

dioxide were continuing to exceed the objective within both AQMAs. Additionally, potential

exceedences were identified outside the declared AQMAs, on Shields Road and Birchfield

Gardens. The report therefore recommended progression to a DA.

Newcastle City Council published its fourth USA in 2012. It concluded that the annual mean

nitrogen dioxide objective was still being exceeded at certain locations within the City centre

AQMA. Automatic monitoring results suggested that the annual mean nitrogen dioxide

objective was being achieved in the Gosforth AQMA; however, non-automatic monitoring

showed some exceedences. Outside the AQMAs, the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective

continued to be exceeded on Shields Road.

The 2013 PR and 2014 PR both concluded that annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective was

still being breached within both AQMAs but did not identify any exceedences outside the

AQMAs, including along Shields Road.

Figure 1.1: Map of City Centre AQMA



Figure 1.2: Map of Gosforth AQMA



2 New Monitoring Data

2.1. Summary of Monitoring Undertaken

2.1.1. Automatic Monitoring Sites

During 2014 there were six automatic monitoring stations operational in the City of Newcastle,

as follows:

St Mary’s Place AURN: Part of Defra’s Automatic Urban and Rural Network (AURN) (called

Newcastle Centre on the Defra website) and classified as an urban centre background

monitoring site. It is located within the City Centre AQMA; there are three diffusion tubes co-

located with the automatic monitor. This monitoring site measures nitrogen dioxide, PM10,

PM2.5 and ozone.

Jesmond Road, Cradlewell: Operated by Newcastle City Council and classified as a roadside

monitoring site. It is located within the City Centre AQMA. This monitoring site measures

nitrogen dioxide, PM10 and ozone.

Percy Street: Operated by Newcastle City Council and classified as a roadside monitoring site.

It is located within the City Centre AQMA; there are three diffusion tubes co-located with the

automatic monitor. This monitoring site measures nitrogen dioxide.

Swan House, Pilgrim Street: Operated by Newcastle City Council and classified as a roadside

monitoring site. It is located within the City Centre AQMA. This monitoring site measures

nitrogen dioxide.

Leazes Lane: Operated by Newcastle City Council and classified as a roadside monitoring

site. It is located within the City Centre AQMA; there are three diffusion tubes co-located with

the automatic monitor. This monitoring site measures nitrogen dioxide.

High Street, Gosforth: Operated by Newcastle City Council and classified as a roadside

monitoring site. It is located within the Gosforth AQMA; there are three diffusion tubes co-

located with the automatic monitor. This monitoring site measures nitrogen dioxide and PM10.

The monitoring locations are shown in Figure 2.1 and details of each site are presented in

Table 2.1



Figure 2.1: Map of Automatic Monitoring Sites

Both Groundhog units and the four Romon 300 units are attended by the Council’s officers

every fortnight to be calibrated and have their filters changed as required. At present the

Council has a service, maintenance and data ratification contract with Supporting U. The

Council is the Local Site Operator (LSO) for the AURN and has adopted Defra’s quality control

procedures. Officers have been trained by Defra in the operation and maintenance of the

AURN air quality monitoring equipment and they adhere to AEA Technology’s Site Operator’s

Manual for the AURN. The AURN is calibrated on a monthly basis by the LSO and serviced at

six monthly intervals by Ricardo-AEA. Data from the AURN are quality controlled and ratified

by Bureau Veritas.



Table 2.1: Details of Automatic Monitoring Sites

Site Name Site Type X OS

Grid Ref Y OS

Grid Ref

Inlet Height

(m)

In AQMA?

Pollutants Monitored

Monitoring Technique

Relevant Exposure?

Distance to kerb of

nearest road

Does this location represent worst-case exposure?

St. Mary’s Place (AURN)

Urban Centre

425029 564916 2.5 Y (CC)

NO, NOX, NO2 PM10, PM2.5

O3

Chemiluminescence TEOM/FDMS

UV absorption

N (30 m) 20 m N

Jesmond Road, Cradlewell (G’hog)

Roadside 425992 565831 2.5 Y (CC)

NO2

PM10

O3

Chemiluminescence TEOM

UV absorption

Y (7 m) 3 m Y

Percy Street (Romon)

Roadside 424776 564861 1.8 Y (CC) NO2 Chemiluminescence Y (20 m) 3 m Y

Swan House, Pilgrim Street (Romon)

Roadside 425124 564112 1.8 Y (CC) NO2 Chemiluminescence Y (10 m) 2 m Y

Leazes Lane (Romon)

Roadside 424525 564770 1.8 Y (CC) NO2 Chemiluminescence Y (6 m) 7 m N

High Street, Gosforth (G’hog)

Roadside 424411 568115 2.5 Y (G) NO2

PM10

Chemiluminescence, TEOM

Y (37 m) 3 m Y

CC = City Centre AQMA, G = Gosforth AQMA, G’hog = Groundhog



2.1.2. Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites

In addition to the continuous monitoring network, Newcastle City Council undertook monitoring

of nitrogen dioxide using passive diffusion tubes at 53 sites during 2014. The locations of the

diffusion tubes are described in Table 2.1 and shown in Figure 2.2, Figure 2.3 and Figure 2.4.

Triplicate tubes are co-located with the St. Mary’s Place, Percy Street, Leazes Lane and

Gosforth automatic monitors. Locations reflect a range of site conditions, i.e. busy roadside,

kerbside, façade and urban background, located both within and outside of the existing

AQMAs.

Since the last Updating and Screening Assessment in 2012, there have been no changes to

the nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube network.

The diffusion tubes are supplied and analysed by ESG Didcot using the 50% triethanolamine

(TEA) in acetone method. Further details regarding the ESG Didcot laboratory and QA/QC

procedures are provided in Appendix A2.

Figure 2.2: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Newcastle City Centre



Figure 2.3: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Gosforth

Figure 2.4: Map of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites in Denton Burn



Table 2.2: Details of Non-Automatic Monitoring Sites

Site ID

Site Name a

Site Type X OS

Grid Ref Y OS

Grid Ref In

AQMA?

Is monitoring co-located

with a Continuous

Analyser

Relevant

Exposure?

Distance to kerb of nearest

road

Does this location

represent worst-case exposure?

2 Newcastle AURN 1 Urban Background 425029 564916 Y Y N 20 m N



5 St Marys Place / John Dobson Street Roadside 424948 564870 Y N Y 2 m Y

6 John Dobson St / North Street Roadside 425027 564695 Y N Y 2 m Y

7 Blackett Street/ Northumberland Street Roadside 424934 564474 Y N Y 2 m Y

8 10 Market Street Roadside 424943 564347 Y N Y 2 m Y

9 98 - 100 Pilgrim Street Roadside 425045 564208 Y N Y 4 m Y

10 Pilgrim Street / Swan House roundabout Roadside 425088 564168 Y N Y 2 m Y

11 Swan House / City Road Roadside 425186 564147 Y N Y 2 m Y

12 8 Mosley Street Roadside 425077 564116 Y N Y 2 m Y

13 Neville Street / Westgate Road Roadside 424729 563922 Y N Y 2 m Y

14 Waterloo Street / Westmorland Road Roadside 424302 563837 Y N Y 2 m Y

15 176 Westgate Road Roadside 424215 564105 N N Y 3 m Y

16 Nexus House, 3 St James Boulevard Roadside 424274 564097 Y N Y 4 m Y

17 96 - 98 Westgate Road / Cross Street Roadside 424441 564055 Y N Y 2 m Y

18 Gallowgate / St Andrews Street Roadside 424430 564391 Y N Y 2 m Y

19 Gallowgate / Percy Street Roadside 424588 564472 Y N Y 2 m Y

20 Newgate Street / Grainger Street Roadside 424737 564171 Y N Y 3 m Y

21 115 - 119 Grainger Street/Market Street Roadside 424797 564295 Y N Y 2 m Y



Site ID

Site Name a

Site Type X OS

Grid Ref Y OS

Grid Ref In

AQMA?


with a Continuous

Analyser

Relevant

Exposure?


road

Does this location


22 Leazes Lane Romon 1 Roadside 424525 564770 Y Y Y 3 m Y



25 Strawberry Place Roadside 424341 564495 Y N Y 3 m Y

26 Leazes Lane / Percy Street Roadside 424615 564559 Y N Y 2 m Y

27 3 St Thomas Street Roadside 424677 564777 Y N Y 4 m Y

28 101 Percy Street / St Thomas Street Roadside 424726 564768 Y N Y 3 m Y

29 Percy Street Romon 1 Roadside 424776 564861 Y Y Y 1 m Y



32 City Road Roadside 425819 564237 N N Y 2 m Y

33 Quayside / Broad Chare Roadside 425478 563930 Y N Y 2 m Y

34 Trinity Chambers / Flynns, Quayside Roadside 425428 563917 Y N Y 2 m Y

35 Queen Street / Lombard Street Roadside 425255 563913 Y N Y 2 m Y

36 The Side / Dean Street Roadside 425085 563942 Y N Y 2 m Y

37 Sandhill / Swing Bridge Roadside 425151 563807 Y N Y 3 m Y

38 32 Close Roadside 425048 563752 Y N Y 2 m Y

39 Forth Street/ Skinnerburn Road Roadside 424707 563483 Y N Y 2 m Y

40 Forth Banks / Pottery Lane Roadside 424596 563558 Y N Y 2 m Y

41 Blue House Roundabout (East) Roadside 424686 566845 Y N Y 4 m Y

42 Blue House Roundabout (North) Roadside 424616 566899 Y N Y 4 m Y

43 53 High Street, Gosforth Roadside 424394 567625 Y N Y 3 m Y



Site ID

Site Name a

Site Type X OS

Grid Ref Y OS

Grid Ref In

AQMA?


with a Continuous

Analyser

Relevant

Exposure?


road

Does this location


44 102 - 104 High Street, Gosforth Roadside 424401 567844 Y N Y 4 m Y

45 Gosforth Hog 1 Roadside 424411 568115 Y Y Y 4 m Y



48 Dene Park House, Killingworth Road Roadside 425641 568204 Y N Y 2 m Y

49 1 Killingworth Road Roadside 425687 568377 Y N Y 2 m Y

50 84 Station Road Roadside 425503 568109 Y N Y 3 m Y

51 16 Jesmond Dene Road Roadside 425046 567154 Y N Y 4 m Y

52 2 - 4 Victoria Square Roadside 425183 565261 N N Y 2 m Y

53 2 - 3 Osborne Terrace Roadside 425425 565364 Y N Y 4 m Y

54 178 Sandyford Road Roadside 425701 565350 Y N Y 2 m Y

55 9 - 11 Coast Road Roadside 427031 566575 N N Y 4 m Y

56 263 Shields Road Roadside 427234 564893 N N Y 3 m Y

57 124 Shields Road Roadside 426843 564775 N N Y 3 m Y

58 7 Studley Terrace / 129 Brighton Grove Roadside 423089 565056 N N Y 2 m Y

59 2 Brighton Grove Roadside 422997 564444 N N Y 3 m Y

60 5 Middleton Avenue Roadside 422210 564678 N N Y 3 m Y

61 26 West Copperas Lane Roadside 419581 565481 N N Y 3 m Y

62 5 Birchfield Gardens Roadside 419448 565124 N N Y 2 m Y



2.2. Comparison of Monitoring Results with AQ Objectives

2.2.1. Nitrogen Dioxide

2.2.1.1. Automatic Monitoring Data

The annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations at the six automatic monitoring locations in

the City of Newcastle are summarised in Table 2.3, for the years 2010 to 2014. Four of the six

monitors had less than 90 % annual data capture, as follows:

- 81.0 % at the St Mary’s Place AURN monitor, due the replacement of the monitor during

August and September 2014;

- 80.7 % at the Pilgrim Street monitor;

- 61.2 % at the Leazes Lane monitor; and

- 78.6 % at the Gosforth monitor.

The low data capture at these monitors is primarily due to the age of the monitors. As a result

of their age, they experience problems with increasing frequency, which require the monitors

to be turned off for maintenance. The data presented for these sites have thus been

annualised and therefore should be viewed with some caution. Details of the annualisation are

provided in Appendix A2

Two of the six monitoring sites, Percy Street and Pilgrim Street, show exceedences of the

annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective in 2014. The Leazes Lane and Gosforth monitoring

sites recorded concentrations well below the annual mean objective in 2014. There were no

exceedences of the 1-hour mean objective at any of the automatic monitors (Table 2.4).

Figure 2.5 shows the trend in the monitoring data at the six automatic monitoring stations for

the years 2010 to 2014. There appear to be no clear trends in the data, with the exception of

the Percy Street monitoring site, which displays a downward trend in annual mean nitrogen

dioxide concentrations over the past five years, at an average rate of 4 g/m3 per year.



Table 2.3: Results of Automatic Monitoring of Nitrogen Dioxide: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)

a

Site Name Site Type Within

AQMA?

Valid Data Capture for period of

monitoring %

Valid Data Capture 2014 %

Annual Mean Concentration (g/m3)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 99.6 81.0 31.9 32.6 29.5 29.1 30.0 b


Roadside Y (CC) 95.8 95.8 41.0 47.2 39.8 45.7 35.9


Roadside Y (CC) 99.8 99.8 55.7 62.0 56.0 47.7 42.6


Roadside Y (CC) 96.5 80.7 48.9 52.0 53.7 52.7 45.7 b

Leazes Lane (Romon)

Roadside Y (CC) 82.2 61.2 33.1 33.5 32.8 32.5 30.4 b


Roadside Y (G) 94.6 78.6 25.9 26.0 20.9 22.2 23.2 b

Objective 40

a Exceedences are shown in bold

b Data capture was less than 90% and the period mean has been annualised

Figure 2.5: Trends in Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations Measured at Automatic Monitoring Sites

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

An

nu

al M

ean

Nit

roge

n D

ioxi

de

C

on

cen

trat

ion

(µ

g/m

3)

Monitoring Year




Swan House, Pilgrim Street(Romon)

Leazes Lane (Romon)




Table 2.4: Results of Automatic Monitoring for Nitrogen Dioxide: Comparison with 1-Hour Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)


AQMA?

Valid Data Capture for period of

monitoring %


Number of Exceedences of 1-Hour Mean (200 µg/m

3)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 a


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 99.6 81.0 N/A N/A N/A N/A 0

(95.3)


Roadside Y (CC) 95.8 95.8 5 1 0 14 1


Roadside Y (CC) 99.8 99.8 2 0 0 0 0


Roadside Y (CC) 96.5 80.7 1 0 1 0 0

(143.5)

Leazes Lane (Romon)

Roadside Y (CC) 82.2 61.2 1 0 0 0 0

(94.8)


Roadside Y (G) 94.6 78.6 0 0 0 0 0

(99.4)

Objective 18

a Where the period of valid data capture is less than 90%, the 99.8

th percentile of hourly means is

included in brackets. This calculation at the Gosforth and Pilgrim Street sites is based on 11 months

of raw data, due to missing data for September.

2.2.1.2. Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data

The nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube data are summarised in Table 2.5. The full dataset

(monthly mean values) is included in Appendix A1. All data have been weighted and bias

adjusted using unrounded raw data. The bias adjustment factor applied to the 2014 data is

0.81, as described in Appendix A2. For any site with less than 9 months data capture, the

annual mean concentration presented in Table 2.5 has not been annualised.

The nitrogen dioxide concentrations measured by the diffusion tubes show that the annual

mean objective was exceeded at 14 of the 53 monitoring locations in 2014. All 14 locations of

exceedence are within the declared AQMAs.

There is one monitoring site in the city with an annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentration

above 60 g/m3 in 2014 - 8 Mosley Street (Site ID 12). This indicates that there is a risk that

the 1-hour nitrogen dioxide objective will be exceeded at this location. However, it appears

that there is no relevant exposure, for the 1-hour objective, within close proximity to this

diffusion tube.



Table 2.5: Results of Nitrogen Dioxide Diffusion Tubes in 2014

Site ID

Location

Site Type Within

AQMA?

Triplicate (T) or

Co-located Tube (C)

Data Capture

2014

Data with less than 9

months has been

annualised

Confirm if data has

been distance corrected

Annual mean concentration

a

(Bias Adjustment factor = 0.81)

2014 (g/m3)

2 Newcastle AURN 1 Urban Background Y T and C 10 months No No 25.8



Newcastle AURN average Urban Background Y T and C 10 months No No 26.0

5 St Marys Place / John Dobson Street Roadside Y - 7 months No No 48.8

6 John Dobson St / North Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 34.2

7 Blackett Street/ Northumberland Street Roadside Y - 7 months No No 50.1

8 10 Market Street Roadside Y - 10 months No No 48.1

9 98 - 100 Pilgrim Street Roadside Y - 10 months No No 41.5

10 Pilgrim Street / Swan House roundabout Roadside Y - 7 months No No 51.7

11 Swan House / City Road Roadside Y - 8 months No No 35.0

12 8 Mosley Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 62.5

13 Neville Street / Westgate Road Roadside Y - 6 months No No 50.5

14 Waterloo Street / Westmorland Road Roadside Y - 10 months No No 44.7

15 176 Westgate Road Roadside N - 8 months No No 34.4

16 Nexus House, 3 St James Boulevard Roadside Y - 10 months No No 37.5

17 96 - 98 Westgate Road / Cross Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 34.5

18 Gallowgate / St Andrews Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 35.9

19 Gallowgate / Percy Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 41.8

20 Newgate Street / Grainger Street Roadside Y - 10 months No No 45.5

21 115 - 119 Grainger Street/Market Street Roadside Y - 9 months No No 47.8

22 Leazes Lane Romon 1 Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 29.3



Site ID

Location

Site Type Within

AQMA?

Triplicate (T) or

Co-located Tube (C)

Data Capture

2014


months has been

annualised

Confirm if data has



a


2014 (g/m3)



Leazes Lane Romon average Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 29.7

25 Strawberry Place Roadside Y - 12 months No No 37.1

26 Leazes Lane / Percy Street Roadside Y - 12 months No No 44.0

27 3 St Thomas Street Roadside Y - 12 months No No 27.1

28 101 Percy Street / St Thomas Street Roadside Y - 12 months No No 33.5

29 Percy Street Romon 1 Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 51.1



Percy Street Romon average Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 50.7

32 City Road Roadside N - 11 months No No 37.2

33 Quayside / Broad Chare Roadside Y - 7 months No No 34.3

34 Trinity Chambers / Flynns, Quayside Roadside Y - 7 months No No 34.6

35 Queen Street / Lombard Street Roadside Y - 11 months No No 30.2

36 The Side / Dean Street Roadside Y - 11 months No No 32.1

37 Sandhill / Swing Bridge Roadside Y - 9 months No No 31.9

38 32 Close Roadside Y - 12 months No No 33.4

39 Forth Street/ Skinnerburn Road Roadside Y - 10 months No No 26.3

40 Forth Banks / Pottery Lane Roadside Y - 8 months No No 47.6

41 Blue House Roundabout (East) Roadside Y - 9 months No No 33.4

42 Blue House Roundabout (North) Roadside Y - 8 months No No 29.9

43 53 High Street, Gosforth Roadside Y - 10 months No No 36.5



Site ID

Location

Site Type Within

AQMA?

Triplicate (T) or

Co-located Tube (C)

Data Capture

2014


months has been

annualised

Confirm if data has



a


2014 (g/m3)

44 102 - 104 High Street, Gosforth Roadside Y - 10 months No No 33.8

45 Gosforth Hog 1 Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 26.6



Gosforth Hog average Roadside Y T and C 12 months No No 26.8

48 Dene Park House, Killingworth Road Roadside Y - 9 months No No 39.2

49 1 Killingworth Road Roadside Y - 8 months No No 23.5

50 84 Station Road Roadside Y - 8 months No No 33.1

51 16 Jesmond Dene Road Roadside Y - 9 months No No 26.5

52 2 - 4 Victoria Square Roadside N - 11 months No No 33.0

53 2 - 3 Osborne Terrace Roadside Y - 10 months No No 29.1

54 178 Sandyford Road Roadside Y - 11 months No No 35.3

55 9 - 11 Coast Road Roadside N - 8 months No No 29.9

56 263 Shields Road Roadside N - 10 months No No 32.9

57 124 Shields Road Roadside N - 12 months No No 34.9

58 7 Studley Terrace / 129 Brighton Grove Roadside N - 12 months No No 28.4

59 2 Brighton Grove Roadside N - 9 months No No 27.4

60 5 Middleton Avenue Roadside N - 12 months No No 20.9

61 26 West Copperas Lane Roadside N - 11 months No No 31.7

62 5 Birchfield Gardens Roadside N - 11 months No No 36.2

a Exceedences of the annual mean objective (40 µg/m

3) are shown in bold.



The distributions of diffusion tube monitoring locations that recorded exceedences of the annual

mean objective in 2014 are shown in Figure 2.6 and Figure 2.7 together with the AQMA

boundaries. The diffusion tube locations which recorded an exceedence of the objective in 2014

are identified with a red marker, while those below the objective are identified with a green marker.

The label at each marker displays the concentration recorded in 2014 at that site.

Sixteen of the 35 diffusion tube monitoring sites within the City Centre AQMA (40%) recorded

concentrations above the annual mean nitrogen dioxide objective in 2014 (Figure 2.6). It is

therefore appropriate to retain the City Centre AQMA. The current boundary should be retained,

but it may be appropriate to investigate reducing the size of the AQMA in the future, if the lower

concentrations near the current boundary are maintained.

All monitoring locations within the Gosforth AQMA (site IDs 41 to 51), recorded annual mean

nitrogen dioxide concentrations which were below the objectives (Figure 2.7). However, two sites

recorded values considered to be close to the objective: site 43 recorded 36.5 µg/m3

and site 48

recorded 39.3 µg/m3. It is therefore appropriate to retain the Gosforth AQMA at the current time.

Figure 2.6: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Locations which Exceeded the Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Objective within the City Centre AQMA in 2014



Figure 2.7: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Locations which Exceeded the Annual Mean Nitrogen Dioxide Objective within the Gosforth AQMA in 2014

Table 2.6 presents the nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube data for years 2010 – 2014. As with the

automatic data, there are no clear trends evident across all sites.



Table 2.6: Results of Nitrogen Dioxide Diffusion Tubes (2010 to 2014)

Site ID

Site Type Within

AQMA?

Annual mean concentration (adjusted for bias) g/m3

2010

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.89)

2011

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.90)

2012

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.82)

2013

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.89)

2014

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.81)

2 Urban

Background Y 30.2 32.1 30.4 28.7 25.8

3 Urban

Background Y 29.9 31.5 29.6 29.1 26.2

4 Urban

Background Y 57.9 34.4 29.8 28.7 25.8

5 Roadside Y 55.8 52.7 51.8 49.7 48.8

6 Roadside Y 37.3 37.6 33.1 34.4 34.2

7 Roadside Y 56.6 56.5 53.9 48.2 50.1

8 Roadside Y 57.7 51.4 47.7 50.6 48.1

9 Roadside Y 50.2 46.5 44.4 41.4 41.5

10 Roadside Y 64.5 63.9 53.5 51.6 51.7

11 Roadside Y 44.2 38.4 44.0 38.4 35.0

12 Roadside Y 66.5 64.4 63.7 64.9 62.5

13 Roadside Y 57.1 61.4 51.7 52.2 50.5

14 Roadside Y 53.2 49.7 47.3 42.9 44.7

15 Roadside N 39.2 32.2 32.7 32.1 34.4

16 Roadside Y 44.2 36.6 40.0 42.4 37.5

17 Roadside Y 39.8 39.0 38.3 36.3 34.5

18 Roadside Y 36.7 37.9 31.7 37.5 35.9

19 Roadside Y 52.8 53.5 48.1 43.6 41.8

20 Roadside Y 53.4 52.7 48.2 48.8 45.5

21 Roadside Y 55.2 53.0 50.3 44.9 47.8

22 Roadside Y 33.7 33.5 27.5 29.6 29.3

23 Roadside Y 33.6 32.9 27.0 30.8 30.7

24 Roadside Y 33.9 33.3 27.3 30.5 29.1

25 Roadside Y 49.1 43.6 40.0 37.7 37.1

26 Roadside Y 43.4 40.7 39.0 48.8 44.0

27 Roadside Y 36.5 34.8 27.4 29.2 27.1

28 Roadside Y 43.5 43.8 42.3 40.4 33.5

29 Roadside Y 65.8 67.7 60.8 53.9 51.1

30 Roadside Y 69.7 68.7 56.8 54.5 49.7

31 Roadside Y 68.2 68.5 57.3 53.5 51.2

32 Roadside N 48.8 45.7 43.5 44.1 37.2

33 Roadside Y 37.6 37.6 33.6 36.0 34.3



Site ID

Site Type Within

AQMA?

Annual mean concentration (adjusted for bias) g/m3

2010

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.89)

2011

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.90)

2012

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.82)

2013

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.89)

2014

(Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.81)

34 Roadside Y 39.8 44.6 37.1 41.0 34.6

35 Roadside Y 37.8 32.1 32.6 32.4 30.2

36 Roadside Y 43.7 40.8 40.8 34.7 32.1

37 Roadside Y 47.2 45.7 41.7 39.3 31.9

38 Roadside Y 39.9 36.1 34.4 35.5 33.4

39 Roadside Y 37.5 32.3 29.7 29.3 26.3

40 Roadside Y 44.5 33.2 34.9 36.2 47.6

41 Roadside Y 43.8 45.3 40.5 37.4 33.4

42 Roadside Y 37.6 37.3 36.2 33.4 29.9

43 Roadside Y 49.4 45.8 41.8 41.8 36.5

44 Roadside Y 44.4 40.8 36.5 39.1 33.8

45 Roadside Y 33.3 30.5 27.9 28.5 26.6

46 Roadside Y 32.0 30.8 28.3 27.9 25.9

47 Roadside Y 31.7 31.9 28.5 29.9 27.9

48 Roadside Y N/A 53.3 48.0 47.2 39.2

49 Roadside Y N/A 28.2 25.8 26.6 23.5

50 Roadside Y N/A 42.5 45.4 44.8 33.1

51 Roadside Y N/A 33.1 31.6 32.2 26.5

52 Roadside N 43.0 37.4 37.8 38.1 33.0

53 Roadside Y 45.1 40.2 39.5 41.1 29.1

54 Roadside Y 39.9 37.1 37.5 33.4 35.3

55 Roadside N 35.0 34.6 33.8 30.3 29.9

56 Roadside N 42.1 35.6 37.0 36.3 32.9

57 Roadside N 40.6 40.3 38.8 37.6 34.9

58 Roadside N 36.1 33.1 32.7 32.8 28.4

59 Roadside N 34.2 34.6 31.1 34.1 27.4

60 Roadside N 27.4 27.3 23.0 22.5 20.9

61 Roadside N 31.7 30.7 32.6 36.8 31.7

62 Roadside N 50.5 38.9 38.8 39.0 36.2

Objective 40

a Exceedences of the annual mean objective (40 µg/m

3) are shown in bold

b Values above 60 µg/m

3 are shown in bold red text



2.2.2. PM10

Continuous monitoring of PM10 is currently undertaken at three automatic monitoring sites in the

City of Newcastle. The St Mary’s Place monitor uses both a Tapered Element Oscillating

Microbalance (TEOM) and a Filter Dynamics Measurement System (FDMS). The Cradwell and

Gosforth monitors use a TEOM. The TEOM data have been adjusted using the Volatile Correction

Model procedure to provide gravimetric equivalent values. The results are presented as annual

mean values in Table 2.7and as days above 50 g/m3 in Table 2.8.

Due to low data capture at the St Mary’s Place monitor in 2014, the annual mean value has been

annualised using the procedure described in Appendix A2. In the case of the daily mean value in

2014 at St Mary’s Place, the 90th percentile concentration has been presented to give an indication

of whether the objective had been exceeded.

There have been no exceedences of either the annual mean or daily mean PM10 objectives in the

City of Newcastle, over the past five years.

The trends in annual mean PM10 concentrations for 2010 to 2014 are shown in Figure 2.8. There is

some evidence of a slight downward trend over the past five years.

Table 2.7: Results of Automatic Monitoring of PM10: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)


AQMA?

Valid Data Capture

for monitoring Period %

Valid Data

Capture 2014 %

Confirm Gravimetric Equivalent

Annual Mean Concentration g/m3

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 99.6 82.8 Y 14.9 19.6 15.6 12.7 12.6 a


Roadside Y (CC) 96.3 96.3 Y 19.8 25.4 20.9 20.6 18.6


Roadside Y (G) 98.1 98.1 Y 16.6 19.3 15.4 15.4 15.3

Objective 40

a Annual data capture was less than 90%, therefore the mean has been “annualised”.



Table 2.8: Results of Automatic Monitoring for PM10: Comparison with 24-hour mean Objective (2010 – 2014)


AQMA?

Valid Data Capture

for monitoring Period %

Valid Data

Capture 2014 %

Confirm Gravimetric Equivalent

Number of Exceedences of 24-Hour

Mean (50 g/m3)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 a


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 99.6 82.8 Y 0 6 3 2 3

(21.9)


Roadside Y (CC) 96.3 96.3 Y 4 20 11 4 2


Roadside Y (G) 98.1 98.1 Y 1 4 0 3 2

Objective 35

a Where data capture is less than 90%, the 90

th percentile of 24-hour means is included in brackets

Figure 2.8: Trends in Annual Mean PM10 Concentrations

2.2.3. Sulphur Dioxide

No monitoring of sulphur dioxide was undertaken by Newcastle City Council in 2014, as previous

review and assessment has shown that there is no risk of exceedences of the objectives.

The St Mary’s Place AURN monitoring site measured sulphur dioxide until 15th August 2012. The

historical data is accessible through Defra’s website at the following link: http://uk-

air.defra.gov.uk/data/

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

An

nu

al M

ean

PM

10

C

on

cen

trat

ion

(µ

g/m

3)

Monitoring Year

St Mary’s Place (AURN)



http://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/data/




2.2.4. Benzene

Benzene monitoring is undertaken at the St Mary’s Place AURN monitoring site. The results for the

most recent five years (2010 to 2014) are presented in Table 2.9. Concentrations have remained

relatively stable over the past five years and are well below the objective.

Table 2.9: Results of Automatic Monitoring of benzene: Comparison with Annual Mean Objective

Site ID Site Type Within

AQMA?


Annual Mean Concentration g/m3

2010

2011 2012 2013 2014


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 71.8 0.68 0.48 0.51 0.64 0.68

Objective 5.00

2.2.5. Other pollutants monitored

In addition to the pollutants covered by the LAQM regulations, Newcastle City Council has

undertaken automatic monitoring of carbon monoxide, ozone and PM2.5.

Carbon Monoxide (CO)

No monitoring of carbon monoxide was undertaken by Newcastle City Council in 2014, as previous

review and assessment work has shown that there is no risk of exceedences of the objective.

The St Mary’s Place AURN monitoring site measured carbon dioxide until 15th August 2012. The

historical data is accessible through Defra’s website at the following link: http://uk-

air.defra.gov.uk/data/

Ozone (O3)

In 2014, ozone was measured at two monitoring sites in the City of Newcastle: Jesmond Road,

Cradlewell and St Mary’s Place AURN. Although ozone is not included in the LAQM system, the

results are included in Table 2.10 for completeness. The results are compared with the running 8-

hour mean objective as set by the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQs) which states

that the running 8-hour mean should not exceed 100 g/m3

on more than 10 days per year. There

were no exceedences of the ozone objective in the City of Newcastle in 2014.





Table 2.10: Results of Automatic Monitoring of Ozone (2010 – 2014) a, b

Site ID Site Type Within

AQMA?

Valid Data

Capture 2014 %

Number of days where the maximum

8-hour mean >100 g/m3

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 84.4 2 0 1 1 0 (81.9)


Roadside Y (CC) 99.9 12 0 6 0 0

Objective 10

a Exceedences of the objective are shown in bold.

b Where annual data capture is less than 90%, the 97

th percentile of the maximum daily 8-hour running

mean, is shown in brackets.

PM2.5

The Government and the Devolved Administrations have set new national Air Quality Objectives

for particulate matter smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5). For the UK (except Scotland), the

proposed objective is an annual mean concentration of 25 µg/m3, to be achieved by 2020. While

these objectives have not been incorporated into LAQM Regulations, they are reported in Table

2.11, for information.

The measured annual mean PM2.5 concentrations at the St Mary’s Place AURN site have been

consistently below the proposed objective, for the years 2010 to 2014. Figure 2.9 shows the trends

in PM2.5 concentrations over the past five years.

Table 2.11: Results of Automatic Monitoring for PM2.5: Comparison with Proposed Annual Mean Objective (2010 – 2014)

a

Site ID Site Type

Within AQMA?

Valid Data

Capture 2014 %

Gravimetric Equivalent

Annual Mean Concentration (µg/m3)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 81.8 Y 10.4 11.8 9.9 10.4 9.7

Proposed Objective (by 2020) 25

a Where annual data capture is less than 90%, the mean has been “annualised” following the procedure set

out in Box 3.2 of TG(09).



Figure 2.9: Trend in PM2.5 Concentrations

2.2.6. Summary of Compliance with AQS Objectives

Newcastle City Council has examined the results from monitoring in the city. Concentrations within the AQMAs are close to or above the annual mean objective for nitrogen dioxide at a number of locations, justifying retention of the AQMAs. Annual mean concentrations of nitrogen dioxide outside of the AQMAs, and concentrations of all other pollutants monitored, are below the objectives at relevant locations. There is no need to proceed to a Detailed Assessment.

0

5

10

15

20

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

An

nu

al M

ean

PM

2.5

Co

nce

ntr

atio

n (µ

g/m

3)

Monitoring Year




3 Road Traffic Sources

3.1. Narrow Congested Streets with Residential Properties Close to the Kerb

The criteria for assessing narrow congested streets are set out in Box 5.3, section A1 of TG(09)

(Defra, 2009). Narrow congested streets were considered in previous Updating and Screening

Assessments and no such locations were identified.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/newly identified congested streets with a flow above 5,000 vehicles per day and residential properties close to the kerb, that have not been adequately considered in previous rounds of Review and Assessment.

3.2. Busy Streets Where People May Spend 1-hour or More Close to Traffic

The criteria for assessing busy streets relevant for the hourly nitrogen dioxide objective are set out

in Box 5.3, section A2 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009). Busy streets where people may spend 1-hour or

more close to traffic were considered in the previous USA.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/newly identified busy streets where people may spend 1 hour or more close to traffic.

3.3. Roads with a High Flow of Buses and/or HGVs.

The criteria for assessing roads with high flows of buses and/ or HGVs are set out in Box 5.3,

section A3 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009). Roads with a high flow of buses and/or HGVs were

considered in previous Updating and Screening Assessments and no such locations identified.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/newly identified roads with high flows of buses/HDVs.

3.4. Junctions

The criteria for assessing junctions are set out in Box 5.3, section A4 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009).

Junctions were considered in detail in previous Updating and Screening Assessments and where

relevant have been included in Detailed Assessments and subsequent AQMA declarations.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/newly identified busy junctions/busy roads.



3.5. New Roads Constructed or Proposed Since the Last Round of Review and

Assessment

The criteria for assessing new roads are set out in Box 5.3, section A5 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009) and

are unchanged from previous rounds of Review and Assessment. There have been no new roads

identified.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/proposed roads.

3.6. Roads with Significantly Changed Traffic Flows

The criteria for assessing roads with significantly changed traffic flows are set out in Box 5.3,

section A6 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009). Predictions of increased traffic do not approach 25% on roads

with more than 10,000 vpd.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new/newly identified roads with significantly changed traffic flows.

3.6.1. Bus and Coach Stations

The criteria for assessing roads with significantly changed traffic flows are set out in Box 5.3,

section A7 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009). Bus and coach stations were considered in previous Updating

and Screening Assessments and no such locations identified.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no relevant bus stations in the Local Authority area.



4 Other Transport Sources

4.1. Airports

The criteria for assessing airports are set out in Box 5.4, section B1 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009).

Newcastle Airport does not exceed the relevant criteria for assessing airports.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no airports meeting the criteria in the Local Authority area.

4.2. Railways (Diesel and Steam Trains)

4.2.1. Stationary Trains

The criteria for assessing stationary locomotives are set out in Box 5.4, section B2 of TG(09)

(Approach 1) (Defra, 2009). There are no locations in the City of Newcastle City where trains are

stationary for 15 minutes or more, more than three times a day.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no locations where diesel or steam trains are regularly stationary for periods of 15 minutes or more, with potential for relevant exposure within 15m.

4.2.2. Moving Trains

The criteria for assessing moving locomotives are set out in Box 5.4, section B2 of TG(09)

(Approach 2) (Defra, 2009).

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no locations with a large number of movements of diesel locomotives, and potential long-term relevant exposure within 30m.

4.3. Ports (Shipping)

The criteria for assessing ports are set out in Box 5.4, section B3 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009) and are

unchanged from previous rounds of Review and Assessment.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no ports or shipping that meet the specified criteria within the Local Authority area.



5 Industrial Sources

5.1.1. New or Proposed Installations for which an Air Quality Assessment has been

Carried Out

The criteria for assessing industrial installations are set out in Box 5.5, section C1 of TG(09) (Defra,

2009). There are no new or proposed industrial installations within the City of Newcastle in 2014.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new or proposed industrial installations for which planning approval has been granted within its area or nearby in a neighbouring authority.

5.1.2. Existing Installations where Emissions have Increased Substantially or New

Relevant Exposure has been Introduced

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no industrial installations with substantially increased emissions or new relevant exposure in their vicinity within its area or nearby in a neighbouring authority.

5.1.3. New or Significantly Changed Installations with No Previous Air Quality

Assessment

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no new or proposed industrial installations for which planning approval has been granted within its area or nearby in a neighbouring authority.

5.2. Major Fuel (Petrol) Storage Depots

The criteria for assessing major fuel (petrol) storage depots are set out in Box 5.5, section C2 of

TG(09) (Defra, 2009). Major petrol storage depots were considered in the previous Updating and

Screening Assessments and no such locations identified.

There are no major fuel (petrol) storage depots within the Local Authority area.

5.3. Petrol Stations

The criteria for assessing petrol stations are set out in Box 5.5, section C3 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009).

There are no petrol stations within the City of Newcastle City that fulfil the criteria.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no petrol stations meeting the specified criteria.



5.4. Poultry Farms

The criteria for assessing poultry farms are set out in Box 5.5, section C4 of TG(09) (Defra, 2009).

No farms exceeding the relevant criteria (turkey units with greater than 100,000 birds, naturally

ventilated units with greater than 200,000 birds or mechanically ventilated units with greater than

400,000) have been identified.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no poultry farms meeting the specified criteria.



6 Commercial and Domestic Sources

6.1. Biomass Combustion – Individual Installations

The criteria for assessing biomass combustion (individual installations) are set out in Box 5.8,

section D1 of TG(09). Newcastle City Council has identified three biomass boilers between 50kW

and 20MW which have been installed in the Newcastle over the last three years. The details of the

three applications are as follows:

Newburn Town Hall, Newburn Road NE15 8QJ (2014/1798/01/DET):

The development has been granted permission subject to conditions and is described as: “Change

of use from offices (Class B1) to a mixed use, dance school (Class D1), design agency (Class B1)

and residential (Class C3), including alterations to elevations to include new windows to basement,

ground and first floors, installation of biomass boiler flue, removal of external fire escape and

demolition of part of existing garage block, and erection of boundary wall, railings and gates to

north and west elevations (3m max height) to form enclosed parking area”. Details regarding the

permitted boiler have been provided by Oakes Energy Services and are summarised below.

The installed boiler is the 90 kW ETA PE-K boiler, manufactured by ETA Heizchnik. It has a

thermal capacity of 95 kW and operates at 93.0 % efficiency at full load (94.6 % efficiency at part

load). The maximum rate of fuel consumption is 20 kg/hr. The boiler is an exempt appliance in

accordance with the Clean Air Act 1993

(http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/appliances.php?keywords=ETA+PE-

K&submit=Search+England&country=e&search=true). At full load, the boiler will generate the

following concentrations within the emissions:

- 18 mg/m3 of particulate matter; and

- 139 mg/m3 of NOX.

The boiler exhaust stack is 14.25 m above ground and has an internal diameter of 0.3 m. The two

closest neighbouring buildings, No. 5 Chapel Court and 61a Newburn Road, are 8.5 m and 8.7 m

high, and they are located at distances of 20.3 m and 16.3 m from the flue, respectively. The

distance from the boiler exhaust stack to the nearest fan assisted intakes and openable windows is

16.25 m.

In summary, the impacts of the energy plant on local air quality have been assessed, as part of the

planning application, and found to be acceptable. Therefore there is no requirement for the

Council to carry out a further detailed assessment.

Roof of 2-50 Cottingwood Gardens (2013/0685/01/DET):

The development has been granted permission subject to conditions and is described as: “Increase

of existing original chimney by 4m in brickwork and further 2.4m flue to roof to service new gas

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/appliances.php?keywords=ETA+PE-K&submit=Search+England&country=e&search=true

http://smokecontrol.defra.gov.uk/appliances.php?keywords=ETA+PE-K&submit=Search+England&country=e&search=true



boiler and biomass pellet boiler”. The following details relating to the boilers have been taken from

the air quality impact assessment submitted to the Council as part of the planning application.

Permission was granted for three gas boilers and one wood-pellet biomass boiler. A dispersion

modelling study was carried out to assess the potential impact of emissions from the boilers on air

quality in the area. The assessment was carried out assuming all four boilers were running at full

load, to ensure a worst-case assessment. The assessment concluded that concentrations of

nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter were predicted to be below the UK air quality objectives, at

all assessed locations of relevant exposure.

In summary, the impacts of the energy plant on local air quality have been assessed using detailed

dispersion modelling and found to be acceptable. Therefore there is no requirement for the


Newcastle City Council Neighbourhood Services, Byker Reclamation Plant, Walker Road

NE6 1AH (2012/0357/01/DET):

The development has been granted permission subject to conditions and is described as:

“Alterations to boiler house including the installation of biomass boiler unit and flue venting at roof

level, unloading bay with retaining wall and fuel transit area, siting of combined heat and power

plant unit and ash pit skip as amended by plans received 02/05/12”. The following details relating

to the boilers have been taken from the air quality impact assessment submitted to the Council as

part of the planning application.

Permission was granted for a 1.0 MW biomass boiler and 1.0 MW gas-fired CHP plant. Dispersion

modelling was carried out to assess the potential impacts of emissions from the boiler and CHP on

air quality in the local area. The assessment was carried out assuming that the boiler and CHP

were running at full load and continually throughout the year, to ensure a worst-case assessment.

The assessment concluded that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter would

remain below the objectives and that the air quality impacts associated with the proposed

installation were not predicted to be significant.

In summary, the impacts of the energy plant on local air quality have been assessed using detailed

dispersion modelling and found to be acceptable. Therefore there is no requirement for the


Newcastle City Council has assessed the biomass combustion plants, and concluded that it will not be necessary to proceed to a Detailed Assessment.



6.2. Biomass Combustion – Combined Impacts

The criteria for assessing biomass combustion (combined impacts) are set out in Box 5.8, section

D1b of TG(09) (Defra, 2009). The likelihood of areas of combined biomass combustion exceeding

the criteria is considered highly unlikely.

Newcastle City Council has assessed the combined impacts of biomass combustion, and concluded that it will not be necessary to proceed to a Detailed Assessment.

6.3. Domestic Solid-Fuel Burning

The criteria for assessing domestic solid-fuel burning are set out in Box 5.8, section D2 of TG(09)

(Defra, 2009) Newcastle City Council has not identified any areas where significant coal burning

takes place.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no areas of significant domestic fuel use in the Local Authority area.



7 Fugitive or Uncontrolled Sources

The criteria for assessing fugitive or uncontrolled sources are set out in Box 5.10, section E1 of

TG(09). A surface mine, operated by Banks Mining, was granted permission in April 2010, subject

to a number of conditions (2008/2002/01/DET). It is described as: “Phased extraction of 2.4million

tonnes of coal and 200,000 tonnes of fireclay by opencast methods from land north of Brenkley.

Retention and extension of existing overburden mound and retention of site compound on the Delhi

Opencast Coal Site to the north of Ponteland Road and the creation of an underpass under

Ponteland Road and emergency access from Ponteland Road into Brenkley Site with associated

restoration works”.

A dust assessment was submitted as part of the application and the impacts of PM10, PM2.5 and

Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) from the mine on nearby sensitive receptors were assessed. It

was concluded that PM10 concentrations at the closest receptors, would not exceed the annual

mean objective for PM10, nor would they exceed the more stringent target values set for 2010. As

a result, the impacts of the mine were deemed insignificant, and an Environmental Management

Plan was proposed to mitigate the impact of dust from the site.

Conditions 34 and 35 specifically related to Dust and Air Quality. Condition 34 stipulated that a

Dust Action Plan needed to be submitted to, and agreed by, the Minerals Planning Authority prior

to the commencement of operations on site. Condition 35 stated that the Dust Action Plan should

be implemented in full and be reviewed annually. Condition 34 was discharged in May 2010

(2008/2002/04/DCC).

Subsequent variations to extend the boundary to remove more coal have been received by the

Council. It is understood that these extensions will not significantly effect PM10 concentrations at

nearby sensitive receptors and thus will not alter the original assessment of the impacts of the

mine. Therefore, there is no need to proceed to a detailed assessment.

Newcastle City Council confirms that there are no potential sources of fugitive particulate matter emissions in the Local Authority area.



8 Conclusions and Proposed Actions

8.1. Conclusions from New Monitoring Data

Newcastle City Council has examined the results from monitoring in the city. The results highlight

that exceedences of the nitrogen dioxide annual mean objective continue to be measured within

the City Centre AQMA, supporting the continued need for the declaration. No exceedences of the

nitrogen dioxide annual mean objective were measured within the Gosforth AQMA in 2014,

however concentrations were close to the objective at two diffusion tube sites and exceedences

were recorded at a number of diffusion tube sites in recent years. Therefore it is considered

appropriate to also retain the Gosforth AQMA.

There were no exceedences of the nitrogen dioxide annual mean objective in areas of relevant

exposure outside the existing AQMA boundaries. There were no exceedences of the 1-hour mean

objective at any of the automatic monitors. The Percy Street automatic monitoring site displays a

linear downward trend in the annual mean nitrogen dioxide concentrations over the past five years,

at an average rate of 4 g/m3 per year, however, trends at other sites are far less clear.

There have also been no measured exceedences of the PM10 annual mean or daily mean

objectives over the period 2010 to 2014, with an indication of a downward trend in concentrations.

8.2. Conclusions from Assessment of Sources

The USA has not identified any significant changes in emissions sources within the City of

Newcastle.

8.3. Proposed Actions

The USA has not identified any need to progress to a Detailed Assessment for any pollutant in the

City of Newcastle. The current monitoring programme is considered appropriate and thus no

changes are proposed. The current declared AQMAs are considered appropriate and should

remain.

Changes to the LAQM process are currently being considered by Defra and it is therefore likely

that by 2016 the LAQM process will have changed with further guidance produced for local

authorities to follow. Newcastle City Council will keep up to date with any changes to the LAQM

process and produce a report in 2016 which complies with the guidance at that time.



9 References

Defra (2009) Review & Assessment: Technical Guidance LAQM.TG(09), Defra.



10 Appendices

A1 Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data 2014 ......................................................................... 45

A2 QA:QC Data ................................................................................................................... 49



A1 Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data 2014

Table A1.1: Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data 2014 a

Site ID

Site Location In

AQMA

Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations as measured (µm/m3) Weighted

Annual Mean

b

(µm/m3)

Bias-Corrected

Annual Mean

c

(µm/m3)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

2 Newcastle AURN 1 Y 45.0 35.2 36.4 13.1 22.5 21.3 34.4 48.8 26.1 41.0 31.9 25.8

3 Newcastle AURN 2 Y 45.9 44.0 35.0 13.8 26.5 20.5 32.6 46.0 22.2 44.3 32.4 26.2

4 Newcastle AURN 3 Y 50.7 36.5 32.7 12.3 28.1 17.8 35.4 55.9 13.0 47.7 31.9 25.8

Newcastle AURN average Y 32.0 26.0

5 St Marys Place / John Dobson Street

Y 55.9 26.4 50.5 47.8 50.0 81.4 106.1 60.2 48.8

6 John Dobson St / North Street Y 37.4 20.9 35.8 26.5 35.2 42.6 29.8 66.0 81.9 42.2 34.2

7 Blackett Street/ Northumberland Street

Y 58.8 26.6 50.9 65.2 36.0 79.2 110.7 61.9 50.1

8 10 Market Street Y 63.0 32.3 53.2 61.1 48.9 54.6 66.3 36.5 72.4 102.4 59.3 48.1

9 98 - 100 Pilgrim Street Y 53.3 21.8 45.4 42.3 35.3 42.8 54.1 34.6 78.1 99.4 51.2 41.5

10 Pilgrim Street / Swan House roundabout

Y 33.9 64.3 47.0 61.2 39.5 87.0 102.9 63.8 51.7

11 Swan House / City Road Y 48.0 19.9 37.4 32.8 40.4 53.4 36.8 75.7 43.2 35.0

12 8 Mosley Street Y 37.2 66.5 64.7 62.4 58.9 94.4 52.6 127.4 118.9 77.2 62.5

13 Neville Street / Westgate Road Y 29.1 63.5 60.4 60.2 48.4 106.6 62.3 50.5

14 Waterloo Street / Westmorland Road

Y 55.9 27.1 48.5 46.5 36.8 50.2 52.5 40.8 76.7 113.6 55.1 44.7

15 176 Westgate Road N 43.6 21.2 34.6 36.5 25.2 37.2 63.5 76.9 42.4 34.4

16 Nexus House, 3 St James Boulevard

Y 42.0 24.6 39.3 30.5 37.0 38.1 50.9 36.3 72.4 84.2 46.2 37.5



Site ID

Site Location In

AQMA


Annual Mean

b

(µm/m3)

Bias-Corrected

Annual Mean

c

(µm/m3)


17 96 - 98 Westgate Road / Cross Street

Y 45.5 23.8 33.3 31.1 28.7 43.2 30.9 68.1 75.2 42.6 34.5

18 Gallowgate / St Andrews Street

Y 39.9 19.8 93.8 32.7 33.3 39.8 27.7 60.9 49.7 44.3 35.9

19 Gallowgate / Percy Street Y 49.6 27.2 54.9 52.9 52.1 56.9 37.6 34.5 93.2 51.6 41.8

20 Newgate Street / Grainger Street

Y 61.3 33.0 54.9 49.5 47.1 50.8 65.1 36.1 89.9 69.1 56.1 45.5

21 115 - 119 Grainger Street/Market Street

Y 57.2 26.2 50.7 49.2 44.5 60.6 38.7 86.6 109.9 59.1 47.8

22 Leazes Lane Romon 1 Y 36.1 27.2 36.1 19.1 36.4 39.0 41.0 30.5 44.7 61.7 24.5 41.5 36.2 29.3



Leazes Lane Romon average Y 36.7 29.7

25 Strawberry Place Y 54.7 45.0 50.8 22.2 38.7 47.7 44.8 38.2 51.8 69.8 33.2 55.7 45.8 37.1

26 Leazes Lane / Percy Street Y 64.7 57.9 63.0 30.3 52.0 52.4 49.2 44.0 59.7 76.8 40.9 64.7 54.3 44.0

27 3 St Thomas Street Y 50.9 37.9 28.3 17.0 31.7 28.3 35.2 24.0 38.2 57.7 26.0 31.4 33.5 27.1

28 101 Percy Street / St Thomas Street

Y 48.2 38.3 45.5 23.1 46.1 36.1 42.6 30.2 55.0 66.5 32.2 36.8 41.4 33.5

29 Percy Street Romon 1 Y 70.7 55.0 63.4 26.2 68.4 55.6 63.6 59.3 71.9 82.5 62.0 78.8 63.0 51.1



Percy Street Romon average Y 62.5 50.7

32 City Road N 53.1 60.1 60.7 23.9 36.8 50.0 42.3 44.7 50.6 29.6 53.2 45.9 37.2

33 Quayside / Broad Chare Y 46.8 46.7 44.8 48.9 28.8 33.4 48.4 42.4 34.3



Site ID

Site Location In

AQMA


Annual Mean

b

(µm/m3)

Bias-Corrected

Annual Mean

c

(µm/m3)


34 Trinity Chambers / Flynns, Quayside

Y 48.6 58.6 24.3 51.3 49.6 37.7 29.5 42.7 34.6

35 Queen Street / Lombard Street Y 45.6 38.9 39.9 18.1 23.7 28.3 31.9 43.0 82.7 17.9 50.2 37.2 30.2

36 The Side / Dean Street Y 51.3 51.2 44.4 22.9 33.6 42.1 35.1 32.7 46.3 24.6 46.6 39.6 32.1

37 Sandhill / Swing Bridge Y 44.8 45.2 24.5 32.1 35.7 39.8 51.5 27.5 47.4 39.4 31.9

38 32 Close Y 44.2 42.7 47.6 22.2 26.9 46.2 38.0 34.5 46.3 94.0 24.9 44.5 41.2 33.4

39 Forth Street/ Skinnerburn Road

Y 39.9 39.6 37.3 17.2 23.3 29.0 28.1 37.7 21.7 45.0 32.5 26.3

40 Forth Banks / Pottery Lane Y 58.1 58.0 294.6 54.9 88.8 89.1 42.3 27.0 58.7 47.6

41 Blue House Roundabout (East)

Y 26.5 14.5 46.9 39.2 34.2 43.8 44.1 77.8 45.2 41.2 33.4

42 Blue House Roundabout (North)

Y 36.6 22.5 31.7 32.5 23.0 48.0 78.8 28.8 36.9 29.9

43 53 High Street, Gosforth Y 39.4 25.4 49.2 45.0 42.3 41.1 50.8 77.3 36.3 46.6 45.1 36.5

44 102 - 104 High Street, Gosforth

Y 52.9 31.5 41.8 46.1 37.3 31.3 49.4 84.0 25.0 31.0 41.7 33.8

45 Gosforth Hog 1 Y 46.0 32.1 38.5 18.5 31.2 29.3 31.7 21.9 37.9 67.7 20.6 25.5 32.8 26.6

46 Gosforth Hog 2 Y 53.2 34.1 37.9 17.4 24.7 30.1 31.0 23.2 39.4 53.0 20.7 24.2 32.0 25.9

47 Gosforth Hog 3 Y 51.1 41.1 37.1 18.7 29.9 32.1 32.5 23.8 38.4 71.1 20.4 25.5 34.5 27.9

Gosforth Hog average Y 33.1 26.8

48 Dene Park House, Killingworth Road

Y 45.0 24.5 49.3 45.8 31.2 54.1 68.1 43.0 63.5 48.4 39.2

49 1 Killingworth Road Y 14.3 24.8 25.2 30.3 23.3 33.6 64.5 22.6 29.1 23.5

50 84 Station Road Y 48.4 26.6 43.8 26.1 41.0 51.9 35.4 49.6 40.9 33.1

51 16 Jesmond Dene Road Y 16.7 31.2 28.0 56.1 30.0 43.1 66.9 26.7 0.7 32.7 26.5



Site ID

Site Location In

AQMA


Annual Mean

b

(µm/m3)

Bias-Corrected

Annual Mean

c

(µm/m3)


52 2 - 4 Victoria Square N 38.5 47.8 44.7 20.4 40.2 38.5 41.0 32.9 73.6 37.0 40.0 40.8 33.0

53 2 - 3 Osborne Terrace Y 48.1 45.6 17.2 23.4 18.8 27.0 39.9 73.0 37.5 36.2 35.9 29.1

54 178 Sandyford Road Y 41.3 37.3 63.9 35.2 50.4 47.7 31.5 53.0 51.1 30.5 33.1 43.6 35.3

55 9 - 11 Coast Road N 37.9 40.3 36.9 34.9 28.1 33.5 64.3 30.0 36.9 29.9

56 263 Shields Road N 37.7 39.4 45.5 21.1 45.5 36.4 40.2 46.4 54.8 40.6 40.7 32.9

57 124 Shields Road N 49.1 48.8 49.4 24.2 45.4 32.8 43.6 36.9 49.3 53.6 36.0 44.0 43.1 34.9

58 7 Studley Terrace / 129 Brighton Grove

N 38.2 42.3 33.3 20.7 33.7 24.0 34.3 30.1 32.5 67.1 27.9 41.9 35.1 28.4

59 2 Brighton Grove N 45.8 37.7 38.8 18.1 32.3 31.9 22.2 33.1 36.2 33.8 27.4

60 5 Middleton Avenue N 31.2 27.1 26.0 11.6 19.4 17.1 19.8 19.6 26.8 55.0 26.6 29.4 25.8 20.9

61 26 West Copperas Lane N 64.4 46.5 41.6 21.5 35.0 30.6 24.3 38.3 65.4 33.8 28.1 39.1 31.7

62 5 Birchfield Gardens N 53.2 44.2 53.2 34.5 45.5 47.5 38.3 35.1 58.1 38.3 35.6 44.7 36.2

a Exceedences of the annual mean objective are shown in bold text. Values over 60 µg/m

3 are shown in bold red text.

b Data weighted by the number of days in each ‘monthly’ monitoring period.

c Bias adjustment factor for 2014 = 0.81



A2 QA:QC Data

Factor from Local Co-location Studies

Bias adjustment factors for the 2014 diffusion tube monitoring data have been calculated from the

four local co-location studies, using the data in Table A2.1,. Newcastle City Council’s network of

diffusion tubes is supplied and analysed by ESG Didcot. The tubes are prepared using 50%

triethanolamine (TEA) in acetone.

Table A2.1: Bias Adjustment Factors from Local Co-location Studies


AQMA? Auto Data Capture

DT a

Periods

Annual Mean (µg/m

3) DT Mean

CV b (%)

Bias

DT Auto c


Urban Centre

Y (CC) 75.0 % 10

months 31.8 30.8 10.5 0.97


Roadside Y (CC) 91.7 % 12

months 61.2 41.9 6.5 0.68

Leazes Lane (Romon)

Roadside Y (CC) 41.7 % 12

months 29.9 31.8 7.5 1.06


Roadside Y (G) 66.7 % 12

months 34.1 26.8 5.9 0.79

a DT = Diffusion Tube

b CV = Coefficient of Variation, i.e. precision of diffusion tube replicates. If the average CV is >10%, the survey

is considered poor overall.

c Non-annualised mean

The automatic monitors at the Leazes Lane and Gosforth sites had low annual data capture in

2014 and thus the bias calculations are not considered accurate. The coefficient of variation of the

diffusion tubes at the St Mary’s Place AURN site is greater than 10 % and the data capture by the

automatic monitor at the same location is the minimum acceptable percentage at 75 %. As a result,

the bias calculations at St. Mary’s AURN are also not considered accurate.

The bias adjustment factor calculated at the Percy Street site is considered accurate, however; it is

quite low and if applied to the diffusion tube results, will result in significant reduction in reported

concentrations (see Table A2.2).

Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factors

A database of bias adjustment factors determined from Local Authority co-location studies

throughout the UK has been collated by the LAQM Helpdesk. The National Diffusion Tube Bias

Adjustment Factor Spreadsheet (Version 06/15) was used to obtain an overall adjustment factor of



0.81 from the input data shown in the following screen shot (Figure A2.1). This overall factor is

based on 30 co-location studies for the same tube preparation method and analysis laboratory as

used by Newcastle City Council.

Figure A2.1: National Diffusion Tube Bias Adjustment Factor Spreadsheet

Discussion of Choice of Factor to Use

The bias adjustment factor that is considered appropriate to apply to all 2014 data is 0.81. This

bias adjustment factor has been taken from the national diffusion tube bias adjustment factor

spreadsheet, version 06/15, and is based on 30 colocation studies; it is considered more reliable

than the single valid factor derived from the colocation studies carried out by Newcastle City

Council.

For transparency, both the national and local (Percy Street) bias adjustment factors have been

applied to the diffusion tube data, with the results presented in Table A2.2, for information only.



Table A2.2: Application of National and Local Bias Adjustment Factors to Diffusion Tube Monitoring Data

a, b

Site ID Location

Weighted annual mean concentration

(g/m3)

Bias adjusted weighted annual

mean concentration (g/m3)

Local Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.68

National Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.81

2 Newcastle AURN 1 31.9 21.7 25.8

3 Newcastle AURN 2 32.4 22.0 26.2

4 Newcastle AURN 3 31.9 21.7 25.8

5 St Marys Place / John Dobson Street 60.2 40.9 48.8

6 John Dobson St / North Street 42.2 28.7 34.2

7 Blackett Street/ Northumberland Street 61.9 42.1 50.1

8 10 Market Street 59.3 40.4 48.1

9 98 - 100 Pilgrim Street 51.2 34.8 41.5

10 Pilgrim Street / Swan House roundabout 63.8 43.4 51.7

11 Swan House / City Road 43.2 29.4 35.0

12 8 Mosley Street 77.2 52.5 62.5

13 Neville Street / Westgate Road 62.3 42.4 50.5

14 Waterloo Street / Westmorland Road 55.1 37.5 44.7

15 176 Westgate Road 42.4 28.9 34.4

16 Nexus House, 3 St James Boulevard 46.2 31.4 37.5

17 96 - 98 Westgate Road / Cross Street 42.6 28.9 34.5

18 Gallowgate / St Andrews Street 44.3 30.1 35.9

19 Gallowgate / Percy Street 51.6 35.1 41.8

20 Newgate Street / Grainger Street 56.1 38.2 45.5

21 115 - 119 Grainger Street/Market Street 59.1 40.2 47.8

22 Leazes Lane Romon 1 36.2 24.6 29.3



25 Strawberry Place 45.8 31.1 37.1

26 Leazes Lane / Percy Street 54.3 36.9 44.0

27 3 St Thomas Street 33.5 22.8 27.1

28 101 Percy Street / St Thomas Street 41.4 28.1 33.5

29 Percy Street Romon 1 63.0 42.9 51.1



32 City Road 45.9 31.2 37.2

33 Quayside / Broad Chare 42.4 28.8 34.3

34 Trinity Chambers / Flynns, Quayside 42.7 29.1 34.6



Site ID Location

Weighted annual mean concentration

(g/m3)

Bias adjusted weighted annual

mean concentration (g/m3)

Local Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.68

National Bias Adjustment

Factor = 0.81

35 Queen Street / Lombard Street 37.2 25.3 30.2

36 The Side / Dean Street 39.6 26.9 32.1

37 Sandhill / Swing Bridge 39.4 26.8 31.9

38 32 Close 41.2 28.0 33.4

39 Forth Street/ Skinnerburn Road 32.5 22.1 26.3

40 Forth Banks / Pottery Lane 58.7 39.9 47.6

41 Blue House Roundabout (East) 41.2 28.0 33.4

42 Blue House Roundabout (North) 36.9 25.1 29.9

43 53 High Street, Gosforth 45.1 30.7 36.5

44 102 - 104 High Street, Gosforth 41.7 28.3 33.7

45 Gosforth Hog 1 32.8 22.3 26.6

46 Gosforth Hog 2 32.0 21.7 25.9

47 Gosforth Hog 3 34.5 23.4 27.9

48 Dene Park House, Killingworth Road 48.5 33.0 39.3

49 1 Killingworth Road 29.0 19.7 23.5

50 84 Station Road 40.9 27.8 33.2

51 16 Jesmond Dene Road 32.6 22.2 26.4

52 2 - 4 Victoria Square 40.8 27.7 33.0

53 2 - 3 Osborne Terrace 35.9 24.4 29.1

54 178 Sandyford Road 43.6 29.6 35.3

55 9 - 11 Coast Road 36.9 25.1 29.9

56 263 Shields Road 40.7 27.7 32.9

57 124 Shields Road 43.1 29.3 34.9

58 7 Studley Terrace / 129 Brighton Grove 35.1 23.9 28.4

59 2 Brighton Grove 33.8 23.0 27.4

60 5 Middleton Avenue 25.8 17.5 20.9

61 26 West Copperas Lane 39.1 26.6 31.7

62 5 Birchfield Gardens 44.7 30.4 36.2

a Exceedences of the objective are shown in bold text.

b Values over 60 µg/m

3 are shown in bold red text.

Short-term to Long-term Data adjustment

The data from four of the six automatic monitoring sites within the City of Newcastle need to be

adjusted from short-term to long-term.



St Mary’s Place AURN:

The St Mary’s Place automatic monitor in Newcastle centre had poor annual data capture due to

replacement of the monitor during August and September 2014. As a result, the nitrogen dioxide

PM10 and PM2.5 data presented in this report from this monitor, have been annualised according to

the method presented in Box 3.2 of LAQM.TG(09) (Defra, 2009). The long term background sites

chosen for the calculation of the annualisation ratio include Sunderland Silksworth AURN,

Eskdalemuir AURN, High Muffles AURN, Auchencorth Moss AURN, Edinburgh St Leonards AURN

and York Bootham AURN (where applicable). The dates for which the monitoring period mean

values were calculated were as follows:

- Nitrogen Dioxide: 01/01/14 at 01:00 to 04/02/14 at 10:00 and 06/02/14 at 14:00 to 04/08/14 at

07:00 and 09/10/14 at 12:00 to 31/12/14 at 24:00; and

- PM10 and PM2.5: 01/01/14 at 01:00 to 27/01/14 at 10:00 and 31/01/14 at 16:00 to 04/02/14 at

10:00 and 06/02/14 at 12:00 to 04/08/14 at 07:00 and 25/09/14 at 12:00 to 31/12/14 @ 24:00.

The mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide recorded at St Mary’s Place over the monitoring period

was 31.7 µg/m3. Applying the average annualisation ratio from Table A2.3 results in an annual

mean nitrogen dioxide concentration of 30.0 µg/m3. The mean concentration of PM10 over the

monitoring period was 12.3 µg/m3. Applying the average annualisation ratio from Table A2.4 results

in an annual mean PM10 concentration of 12.6 µg/m3. The mean concentration of PM2.5 over the

monitoring period was 9.5 µg/m3. Applying the average annualisation ratio from Table A2.5 results

in an annual mean PM2.5 concentration of 9.7 µg/m3.

Table A2.3: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site

Site Site Type Annual Mean Period Mean Ratio

Sunderland Silksworth AURN

Urban Background 16.3 16.7 0.973

Eskdalemuir AURN Rural Background 2.3 2.4 0.950

High Muffles AURN Rural Background 5.4 5.9 0.912

Average Ratio 0.945

Table A2.4: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of PM10 annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site


Auchencorth Moss AURN

Rural Background 8.1 7.1 1.052

Edinburgh St Leonards AURN


York Bootham AURN Urban Background 15.0 14.9 1.006

Average Ratio 1.025



Table A2.5: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of PM2.5 annualisation ratio for St Mary’s Place AURN site




Auchencorth Moss AURN

Rural Background 7.1 6.6 1.066

Edinburgh St Leonards AURN


York Bootham AURN Urban Background 12.4 12.5 0.996

Average Ratio 1.018

Swan House, Pilgrim Street:

The Pilgrim Street automatic monitor in Newcastle centre had poor annual data capture due to

replacement of the monitor during August and September 2014. As a result, the nitrogen dioxide

data presented in this report from this monitor, has been annualised according to the method

presented in Box 3.2 of LAQM.TG(09) (Defra, 2009). The long term background sites chosen for

the calculation of the annualisation ratio include St Mary’s Place AURN, Sunderland Silksworth

AURN, Eskdalemuir AURN and High Muffles AURN. The dates for which the monitoring period

mean values were calculated were as follows:


24:00 and 01/10/14 at 02:00 to 31/12/14 at 24:00; and

The mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide recorded at Swan House over the monitoring period


mean nitrogen dioxide concentration of 45.7 µg/m3.

Table A2.6: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Pilgrim Street site


St Mary’s Place AURN Urban Background 31.7 33.7 0.943





Average Ratio 0.914

Leazes Lane:

The Leazes Lane automatic monitor in Newcastle centre had poor annual data capture. As a

result, the nitrogen dioxide data presented in this report from this monitor, has been annualised

according to the method presented in Box 3.2 of LAQM.TG(09) (Defra, 2009). The long term



background sites chosen for the calculation of the annualisation ratio include Sunderland

Silksworth AURN, Eskdalemuir AURN and High Muffles AURN. The dates for which the

monitoring period mean values were calculated were as follows:


09:00 and 05/11/14 at 16:00 to 31/12/14 at 24:00; and

The mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide recorded at Leazes Lane over the monitoring period


mean nitrogen dioxide concentration of 30.4 µg/m3.

Table A2.7: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Leazes Lane site







Average Ratio 0.924

High Street, Gosforth:

The Gosforth automatic monitor in Newcastle centre had poor annual data capture. As a result,

the nitrogen dioxide data presented in this report from this monitor, has been annualised according

to the method presented in Box 3.2 of LAQM.TG(09) (Defra, 2009). The long term background

sites chosen for the calculation of the annualisation ratio include St Mary’s Place AURN,

Sunderland Silksworth AURN, Eskdalemuir AURN and High Muffles AURN. The dates for which

the monitoring period mean values were calculated were as follows:


24:00.

The mean concentration of nitrogen dioxide recorded at High Street over the monitoring period was

25.8 µg/m3. Applying the average annualisation ratio from Table A2.8 results in an annual mean

nitrogen dioxide concentration of 23.2 µg/m3.



Table A2.8: Long-term AURN sites used for calculation of nitrogen dioxide annualisation ratio for Gosforth site







Average Ratio 0.902

QA/QC of automatic monitoring

Both Groundhog units and the four Romon 300 units are attended by the Council’s officers every

fortnight to be calibrated and have their filters changed as required. At present the Council have a

service, maintenance and data ratification contract with Supporting U. The Council is the Local Site

Operator (LSO) for the AURN and has adopted Defra’s quality control procedures. Officers have

been trained by Defra in the operation and maintenance of the AURN air quality monitoring

equipment and they adhere to AEA Technology’s Site Operator’s Manual for the AURN. The AURN

is calibrated on a monthly basis by LSOs and serviced at six monthly intervals by Ricardo-AEA.

Data from the AURN are quality controlled and ratified by Bureau Veritas.

QA/QC of diffusion tube monitoring

The diffusion tubes are supplied and analysed by Environmental Scientifics Group Ltd (ESG)

Didcot using the 50% triethanolamine (TEA) in acetone method. ESG participates in the Annual

Field Inter-Comparison Exercise and until March 2014, participated in the Workplace Analysis

Scheme for Proficiency (WASP) inter-comparison scheme for nitrogen dioxide diffusion tube

analysis. From April 2014, the WASP scheme was combined with the STACKS scheme to form

the new AIR scheme, which ESG participates in. The AIR scheme is an independent analytical

proficiency-testing scheme operated by LGC Standards and supported by the Health and Safety

Laboratory (HSL). The ESG laboratory follows the procedures set out in the Harmonisation

Practical Guidance and is UKAS accredited.

From January to March 2014 the laboratory scored 100% in the WASP scheme and from April to

November 2014 scored 100% in the AIR scheme. This implies that 100% of results submitted by

ESG for all recent rounds were determined as satisfactory. In 2014, the tube precision for nitrogen

dioxide Annual Field Inter-Comparison for ESG using the 50% TEA in acetone method was ‘good’

for the results from 13 participating local authorities and ‘poor’ for nine others.

2015 air quality updating and screening assessment · newcastle city council updating and screening...

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