Air Quality and Odour Control
Environmental Health Officer, Air Pollution Control Officer, Environmental Consultant, Air Quality Manager
The Sector
The air quality sector can be split into two areas; monitoring and assessment. Air quality monitoring involves the measurement of the concentrations of pollutants, either at the point of emission or in the external atmosphere. Air quality assessment is the examination of the quality of the atmosphere and its potential variation due to a proposed change in an urban or rural area. Odour assessment is essentially a subset of the air quality sector and is an issue that relates more to nuisance rather than health concerns.
Sector Profile
This sector has experienced major growth in the past few years due to increasing health concerns and increasing legislation. There are approximately 3000 people involved in air quality issues on a day-to-day basis, including positions within industry, research, national government and academia. Several hundred experts are employed by local authorities and around 400 people by consultancies.
Issues and Trends
Within local government, the major driver is the review and assessment of air quality required under the Environment Act 1995. Local authorities are expected to undertake an assessment of air quality at regular intervals. Where the Review suggests that air quality objectives will not be achieved, the authority must develop an action plan. This has been a major change in responsibilities, leading to many positions being created. It also means that planning applications are scrutinised to ensure that they do not result in adverse air quality impacts. In addition, local authorities also regulate several industries under the Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations 2000.
Some environmental consultancies have specialised in undertaking the review for local authorities, whilst others are concerned with industrial clients seeking permits from the Environment Agency. Within a consultancy, you can expect exposure to a wider range of project types.
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