Improving air quality in Neath Port Talbot is top of the agenda for a new project team set up by the Local Service Board.
The air quality project team is made up of the Council, Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), the Environment Agency Wales (EAW), the Health Board and Public Health Wales. They have joined forces to look at ways of improving the quality of air that we breathe.
Port Talbot is known for its industry and with the dramatic rise of traffic on all our roads there is little surprise that all this has contributed to the poor air quality in some parts of the county borough.
Over the years a lot of work has been done by the Council and EAW through their regulatory work to help achieve significant reductions in harmful emissions. This has included the introduction of new ways of working with industry to implement changes to their processes and to reduce emissions. They also include using new technology to more accurately identify and act on the exact causes of pollution.
However, with poor air quality still an issue in some areas, there is now a need to tackle this head on.
Steve Brown, EAW said, “The Neath Port Talbot Local Service Board is keen to address this issue and further improve air quality. Clean air is essential to our health and the environment and so a project team has been set up specifically to tackle this issue.
“We are keen to make sure that air quality across the county borough will meet all necessary standards and as regulators, we will continue to work together with government, industry, local communities and others to ensure that these standards are met.”
The project team hopes to better define areas of poor air quality and what needs to be done to further improve them. It also aims to get a better understanding of how poor air quality can affect people’s health and to improve the support given to the most vulnerable residents who may be affected. The team will also work with communities to tackle air quality issues and inform them better on improvements.
A leaflet about air quality in Neath Port Talbot is due to be delivered to every household next week as an insert in Community Spirit. This will give residents an easier insight into what is a very complex subject. It also explains that air quality in Neath Port Talbot is not as bad as some people may think.
