Air quality reports for Uusimaa
The Environmental Protection Act obliges municipalities to see to the necessary monitoring of the state of the environment in accordance with the local conditions within their territory. According to the Government Decree on Air Quality, the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres) must have knowledge of air quality and ensure that air quality monitoring is well-organised within their territory. The obligations related to the monitoring of air quality at industrial plants are laid down in the environmental permits for operations. Municipalities and industry have been monitoring the air quality in Uusimaa by measurements since the 1970s. In Uusimaa, air quality monitoring is carried out as joint regional monitoring, the costs of which are borne by the region’s municipalities and in part by industrial plants. HSY is responsible for air quality measurements in Uusimaa.
The air quality in Uusimaa is assessed through continuous and indicative monitoring, emission inventories, and with bioindicators. Measurements are carried out in accordance with the five-year air quality monitoring programme for Uusimaa. Continuous air quality monitoring is carried out in Lohja, the results of which describe the air quality in urban background areas. A second monitoring site is located in traffic environments in Kirkkonummi, Porvoo, Hyvinkää, Järvenpää and Kerava in one-year periods. In addition, indicative passive sampling is carried out in several municipalities in Uusimaa. The effects of wood burning on air quality are monitored yearly in one detached-house area with a PAH sampler and a LDSA measuring instrument. Emissions are also assessed annually in each municipality in the region. A report on the air quality in Uusimaa and its development is published by the Uusimaa ELY Centre.
Air quality and its development in Uusimaa have been examined by various parties by means of regular bioindicator studies since the 1980s. The condition and profusion of lichen species is used as an indicator to reflect the impact of air pollutants.