The IAQM is committed to enhancing the understanding and development of the science behind air quality by promoting knowledge and understanding of best working practices. Therefore from time-to-time we publish guidance and recommendations to aid members in their work.
Air quality impacts on nature sites Guidance
Air pollution damage to protected wildlife sites is often overlooked due to the current emphasis on its effect on human health. This publication signposts the appropriate thresholds used by local authorities, the Environment Agency and other regulators to conclude that there will not be a significant effect. When these thresholds are exceeded, a suitably qualified and experienced ecologist must determine whether there is likely to be a significant effect on the habitat. The guide stresses the importance of air quality and ecology specialists working closely together.
Demolition/Construction Site Monitoring Guidance
Constructing buildings, roads and other infrastructure can have a substantial, temporary impact on local air quality. This document provides updated guidance on air quality monitoring in the vicinity of demolition and construction sites. It should be read and applied in conjunction with the Guidance on the assessment of dust from demolition and construction 2014 that was published by the IAQM in January 2014.
Some guidance on odour assessment is already available from the national Government, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Environment Agency (EA). However, none of this specifically provides guidance applicable for planning purposes. This IAQM document has been prepared to assist practitioners involved in odour assessment for planning.
This IAQM document has been prepared to assist practitioners undertake dust assessments for mineral sites. It aims to provide advice on robust and consistent good-practice approaches that can be used to assess the operational phase dust impacts. This guidance is designed for use in the planning process; it is not designed for other purposes such as Environmental Permitting.
Environmental Protection UK (EPUK) and the Institute of Air Quality Management (IAQM) have produced this guidance, which replaces the 2010 EPUK Guidance document, to ensure that air quality is adequately considered in the land-use planning and development control processes.
The document provides guidance for developers, their consultants and environmental health practitioners on how to undertake a construction impact assessment (including demolition and earthworks). The impacts of dust depend on the mitigation measures adopted. The emphasis in this document is therefore on classifying the risk of dust impacts from a site, which will then allow appropriate mitigation measures to be identified.
This is a substantial rewrite of previous guidance published in 2012, adopting the lessons learnt from the application of the previous guidance over the past two years.
Significance Guidance (Replaced)
Following discussion amongst the membership, the Institute has prepared recommendations for assessing the significance of air quality impacts.
This guidance was replaced by the Planning Guidance published in 2015 and available above.
Dealing with Uncertainty in Vehicle NOx Emissions Within Air Quality Assessments
Mitigation of Development Air Quality Impacts
Competent Air Quality Expert for Environmental Impact Assessment
Assessment of Air Quality Impacts from Combustion Plant with Limited-hours of Operation
Mitigation Measures: Ambient Pollution Removal Techniques