Air Quality

Smoke Control Area

North Kesteven District Council is actively involved in assessing and controlling air quality throughout the District.

The Council has undertaken a review and assessment of air quality in the District, which has demonstrated that our air meets the Government’s targets for the range of pollutants in the Air Quality Strategy. We routinely monitor Nitrogen Dioxide levels at locations throughout the District

There are over 40 potentially polluting industries in the District that are controlled by Environmental Services by a system of permits under the Pollution Prevention and Control Act 1999. For these industries (which include small waste oil burners; dry cleaners; industrial coaters; quarries and petrol filling stations) emissions are controlled by a range of legally enforceable conditions. These processes are subject to regular routine inspection. For more information on this, see the IPPC tab to the right.

We also respond to complaints regarding air pollution issues, such as smoke nuisance from bonfires, emissions of dark smoke and offensive odours.

Where enforcement action is necessary, officers take appropriate action dependent on the seriousness of the breach of the law, guided by our enforcement policy which can be found below in Adobe PDF format.

The Council’s area includes two Smoke Control Areas, both located in North Hykeham.

North Kesteven currently carries out passive monitoring at 9 NO2 diffusion tube sites in North Hykeham and Sleaford.

Air Quality Forecasting

The link below gives information from The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on air pollution. There are daily updated forecasts for up to 24-hours ahead of UK air pollution concentrations. Forecasts are issued for sixteen urban areas and sixteen UK regions for roadside, urban background and rural locations.

DEFRA Air Pollution Information Bands

The information is published as Air Pollution Information Bands for five pollutants. The bands are Low, Moderate, High and Very High (see table below) and relate to the potential for the levels of pollution to impact on the health of the population. These bandings are also used by DEFRA to assess long-term trends in air quality for reporting against national targets.

Pollution Band & Numerical Index	Health Effect
1-3 (Low)	Effects are unlikely to be noticed by people who know they are sensitive to air pollutants.
4-6 (Moderate)	Mild effects are unlikely to require action, but sensitive people may notice them.
7-9 (High)	Sensitive people may notice significant effects, and may have to act to reduce or avoid them (for example, by reducing time spent outdoors). Asthmatics will find that their reliever inhaler should reverse the effects of pollution on their lungs.
10 (Very High)	The effects of high levels of pollution on sensitive people may worsen when pollution becomes very high.

Sensitive individuals are people who suffer from heart and lung diseases, including asthma, particularly if they are elderly.

To request help with an air pollution problem, telephone 01529 414155, fax 01529 308394 or complete the Air Quality Feedback Form below.