Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 3 Japanese air quality standards (based on [
15
])
Pollutant
Avg. time Level
Form
Carbon monoxide
24 h
1h
10 ppm
20 ppm
Not to be exceeded
For any consecutive 8 h period
Lead
No limit value
Nitrogen dioxide
24 h
0.04-0.06 ppm Values to be within or below that zone
Ozone
a
1 h
0.06 ppm
Not to be exceeded
g/m
3
Particle pollution PM
2.5
Year
24 h
15
35
m
g/m
3
Not to be exceeded
m
Annual 98th percentile value
The daily average for hourly values shall
not exceed 0.10 mg/m
3
, and hourly
values shall not exceed 0.20 mg/m
3
Sulphur dioxide 24 h 0.04 ppm Not to be exceeded
1 h 0.1 ppm Not to be exceeded
a
Defined as oxidising substances (e.g. O
3
and PAN, peroxyacetyl nitrate) capable of isolating
iodine from neutral potassium iodide, excluding nitrogen dioxide
PM
10
other Asian countries, please refer to the corresponding webpages [
14
]. The Japa-
nese air quality standards are summarised in Table
3
.
The Japanese “Air Pollution Control Law” dates back to 1968 and was designed
to promote comprehensive air pollution control measures. Subsequent revisions
have included extensions of regulatory objects, nationwide regulation and enforced
standards, e.g. those for specific dust (asbestos) in 1989, vehicle fuel in 1995,
harmful air pollutants in 1996 and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in 2004.
Article 1 of the recent Japanese Air Pollution Control Law [
16
] states:
The purposes of this Law are as follows.
One is to protect the
public health
and
preserve the living environment
with respect to air
pollution, by controlling emissions of soot, smoke and particulate from the business activities
of factories and business establishments; by controlling emissions of particulate while
buildings are being demolished; by promoting various measures concerning hazardous air
pollutants; and, by setting maximum permissible limits for automobile exhaust gases, etc.
The other is to help victims of air pollution-related health damage by providing a
liability regime
health damage caused by air pollution from business activities.
It is interesting to note that this law clearly indicates a liability regime for
those who were harmed which is not the case in the corresponding laws of the
USA and the European Union.
2.3 Europe
Air Quality is regulated at the European Union level by Directive 2008/50/EC [
17
]
with currently one additional directive (2004/107/EC) [
18
] covering arsenic,
Cd, Hg, Ni and polycyclic hydrocarbons (PAH) in air. The European directives
