2018

Countries of low level

of air pollution
Iceland
Estonia
Spain

Environmental Toxicology
Submitted to Ma’am Ayesha
Submitted by Sana Ehsan
Sunena sultan
Faryal karim

4/25/2018
Introduction:
The EU's long-term objective is to achieve levels of air quality that do not result in
unacceptable impacts on, and risks to, human health and the environment. The EU acts
at many levels to reduce exposure to air pollution: through legislation; cooperation with
sectors responsible for air pollution, as well as international, national and regional
authorities and non-governmental organisations; and research. EU policies aim to reduce
exposure to air pollution by reducing emissions and setting limits and target values for air
quality. In late 2013, the European Commission adopted a proposed Clean Air Quality
Package including new measures to reduce air pollution.
We will describe the three countries which are:

 Iceland
 Estonia
 Spain

Iceland:
Geography

Iceland is a mountainous island nation in the North Atlantic Ocean, located between
Europe and North America. Though not part of the continental mainland, the country is
considered Nordic European. The name of the country—Iceland—may not be that
appropriate: although 10% of Iceland is covered by glaciers, it has a surprisingly mild
climate and countless geothermal hot-spots and hot springs.

The main island is entirely south of the Arctic Circle, which passes through the small
Icelandic island of Grimsey off the main island's northern coast. The country lies between
latitudes 63 and 68°N, and longitudes 25 and 13°W.
Climate
The climate of Iceland is subarctic near the southern coastal area and tundra inland in
the highlands. The island lies in the path of the North Atlantic Current, which makes
its climate more temperate than would be expected for its latitude just south of the Arctic
Circle.

The average temperature in Reykjavík is around 1-2°C (33-35°F) in wintertime and

around 12°C (54°F) in summer. In summertime however, it never gets any hot days,
although sometimes it can get pretty warm. The highest temperature recorded
in Iceland was 30.5°C or 86.9°F in 1939 in the east of the country.

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Iceland has a very small, open economy, built on plentiful and cheap renewable energy.
Natural Assists

Glaciers, rivers and lakes cover 13% of Iceland’s area, resulting in abundant freshwater
supplies. Between this abundance and the small population, the water use intensity is
among the lowest in the OECD. Less than 1% of the land area is artificially built, and
agricultural land is scarce.

Vegetation covers 60% of the land area. Forests cover only 0.3% of the total area. About
90% of the population lives in coastal areas, mainly in and around Reykjavík. National
parks and reserves have been expanded: about 20% of the land area is under some form
of nature protection.
Environmental quality of life in Iceland

Icelanders are very politically active. More than half the population is satisfied with the
government’s efforts to preserve the environment.

Iceland’s people are also generally more satisfied with water and air quality than in the
OECD as a whole. Groundwater is of excellent quality and does not need treatment before
consumption. Concentration of nutrients in rivers and lakes has historically been low,
although the nitrogen and phosphorus balances, as well as pesticide sales, have
increased in line with agricultural production.

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 The share of the population connected to wastewater treatment systems increased to
73% in 2011 (including individual treatment facilities), although most systems only provide
primary treatment. This is among the lowest levels in the OECD, partly because the very
low population density makes building extensive infrastructure unfeasible.

Emissions of most air pollutants declined in the 2000s and ambient air quality is generally
good in the Reykjavík area.
Air pollution in Iceland

Iceland has strengthened its environmental policy framework. It has several policy
instruments that put a price on resource use and pollution, such as transferable fishing
quotas and taxes on fuels and vehicles. The financial and economic crisis, however,
reduced the resources available for investing in environmental protection and services.
Part of Iceland’s response to the crisis has been an increased emphasis on green growth.
A 2011 parliamentary report contains 50 proposals to promote the transition towards a
greener economy.

Trend of particulate matter emission in air in Iceland yearly average

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 Iceland Air pollution control Policy

 Continual improvement in our environmental performance.

 Preventing pollution where possible;
 Compliance with applicable environmental legislation, regulations and codes of practice
relevant to the tourism and the aviation industry;
 Implement programs to reduce our environmental impact;
 Educating, training and motivating employees to carry out tasks in an environmentally
responsible manner;
 Working toward industry specific goals;
o Cap on CO2 emissions from 2020
o Average improvement of fuel efficiency of 1.5% from 2009 – 2020
o Reduction in CO2 emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 level.

Estonia:
Geography and climate:

Estonia is situated in north eastern Europe, being the northernmost of the three Baltic
States. It is bounded on the west and north by the Baltic Sea and on the east by Lake
Peipsi and the Narva River. It is bordered t by Russia on the east and southeast and
Latvia to the south. Tallinn, Estonian capital, is only about 85 km south of Helsinki, the
capital of Finland, across the Gulf of Finland. Sweden is Estonia's nearest western
neighbor across the Baltic Sea.

Estonia is often referred to as a very small country. With an area of 45,000 sq. km, Estonia
is in fact larger than e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark or Switzerland, but still for
example five times smaller than Great Britain. Estonia stretches 350 km from east to west
and 240 km from north to south. Sea islands form one tenth and lakes about one twentieth
of Estonia's territory. Almost half of the Estonian territory is covered by forest and
woodland.

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Estonia’s natural assist:
Estonia is situated on the East-Atlantic migratory path of Arctic waterfowls, every year
millions of waterfowls travel through our coastal waters. What is more, our western taiga
forests are especially rich in species. Estonia is, for example, one of the few countries in
Europe where it is possible to observe eight different species of woodpeckers. In addition
to that, you can meet a lot of galliformes here e.g. the Hazel Grouse, the Capercaillie,
and the Grouse.

A lot of such species that cannot be found anywhere else still inhabit our forests. For
example, the flying squirrel who can only be seen in Estonia and Sweden. Our forests are
made even more fascinating by the mammals living here e.g. lynx, wolf and bear. The
lynx and the wolf can be seen during any season but the best period for bear, beaver and
elk-watching is from April to September.

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The main objectives and measures in the area of climate change mitigation and quality
of ambient air are:

The environment, health and quality of life

 development of a monitoring and information system for outdoor environmental factors
that affect health, and publication of data;
 development of a system for assessment and control of health hazards, to reduce and
mitigate long-term environment-related health risks;
 formulation of regulations, instructions and action plans for mitigation of health risks
in the urban environment;
 increasing the knowledge of specialists and people about the health risks posed by
the outdoor environment.

Condition of air pollution in Estonia

 The mean annual concentrations and depositions of sulphate and nitrate
decreased significantly between 1995 and 1996 due to reductions of acidifying
pollutants.
 Recent results of measurements of the mean annual concentrations and
depositions of sulphate (Figure 6) and nitrate (Figure 7) in precipitation at the
Vilsandi background monitoring station show some decreases or stable levels.

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 concentration (mgS/l), deposition (mg/m2) and precipitation (mm), Vilsandi
background station

Air pollution control policy:

 By 2015 the share of oil shale in the production of electricity should be less than 90 %;
 By 2015 the share of electricity produced from renewable energy sources and
consumed in Estonia should increase to at least 8 %;
 By 2020 the share of electricity produced in combined heat and power plants and
consumed in Estonia should increase to at least 20 %;
 Energy consumption per unit of GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP):
primary energy consumption should remain at the 2003 level (20.0 TJ per PPP) until
2010:
 Losses in the distribution network should fall to 8 % by 2009 and remain at this level
at least until 2015.

Spain:
Geography
It is a country located in southwestern Europe occupying most (about 85 percent) of
the Iberian Peninsula and includes a small exclave inside France called Llívia as well as
the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean,
The Spanish mainland is bordered to the south and east almost entirely by
the Mediterranean Sea (except for a small land boundary with Gibraltar); to the north
by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by the Atlantic
Ocean and Portugal. With an area of 504,030 km2, Spain is the largest country
in Southern Europe, the second largest country in Western Europe (behind France) and
the fourth largest country in the European continent (behind Russia, Ukraine and France).
It has an average altitude of 650 m.
Climate

The climate of Spain varies across the country. Spain is the most climatically diverse
country in Europe with 13 different Köppen climates (excluding the Canary Islands) and
it's within the 10th most climatically diverse countries in the world. Five main climatic
zones (the five main climates) can be distinguished, according to Guzman geographical
situation and orographic conditions.

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Environmental Policies of Spain

 Spain has adopted the air quality standards of the European Union, set out in:
 Directive 2008/50/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 May
2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe
 Directive 2004/107/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15
December 2004 relating to arsenic, cadmium, mercury, nickel and polycyclic
hydrocarbons in ambient air (4th daughter Directive)

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  These directives were incorporated into Spanish legal framework through the
Royal Decree 102/2011, of 28 January on the improvement of air quality. In
addition, Law 34/2007 on air quality and protection of the atmosphere is legally
binding from 15th November.

National Air Quality Policy:

 On April 2013 Spain approved the National Air Quality and Atmospheric Protection
Plan 2013-2016: Plan AIRE Which is the strategic framework set up at national
level complemented by action plans approved by other regional or local
administrations for each region or area where air quality needs to be improved.
 Public awareness is considered one of the mainstays of Plan AIRE
Emission regulations for industries

 Industrial emissions within the European Union are regulated under the Industrial
Emissions Directive (IED), which was issued on 21 December 2007
 The directive’s aim was to achieve significant benefits to the environment and
human health by reducing harmful industrial emissions across the EU, in particular
through better application of Best Available Techniques.
 The IED entered into force on 6 January 2011 and has to be transposed into
national legislation by Member States by 7 January 2013.
 European legislation establishes air quality objectives (limit and target values) for
the different pollutants. Limit values are concentrations that must not be exceeded
in a given period of time.
 The most polluting facilities are subject to prior authorization to operate. Emissions
legal limits of major pollutants must not be exceeded as they are set out in the
authorization.

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  Plan Aire includes the transposition to the national legal system of the Directive
2010/75 / EU on Industrial Emissions. This has already been done by Law 5/2013
Vehicle emission limit

 A step towards the renewal of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles fleets,
where diesel engines predominate, has been accomplished by granting aids for
the purchase of cleaner and more efficient vehicles, under a scrapping system.
Fuel Sulphur content: (in ppm)
 The 2000/2005 emission standards were accompanied by an introduction of more
stringent fuel regulations that require “Sulphur-free” diesel and gasoline fuels (≤ 10
ppm S) must be mandatory from 2009.
 Maximum allowable sulphur level in petrol and diesel fuels is 10ppm
 Fuel Lead content: All vehicles use lead free gasoline

Refferences:
 http://www.explainthatstuff.com/air-pollution-introduction.html
 https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/air/intro
 https://biofriendlyplanet.com/eco-awareness/air-quality/air-
pollution/countries-least-polluted-urban-areas/
 https://www.keskkonnaamet.ee/en/activities/air/air-pollution-permit

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