Article

Air Quality North Holland

Emission sources and potential policy measures

Researcher: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment
Client: Province Noord-Holland

RIVM Letter report 2017-02-05
H.R. de Ruiter et al.

Synopsis

Air Quality North Holland
Emission sources and potential policy measures

The concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the province of North Holland was higher than the national average for the year 2015. It is expected that this will continue to be the case in 2030. Moreover, European air quality standards might still be exceeded locally in 2030. The concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in North Holland is slightly lower than the Dutch average. RIVM sees various options for improving air quality in North Holland. The most important ones are to reduce road traffic, to encourage the use of clean vehicles, to restrict the burning of wood in households, and to accelerate the transition to cleaner fuels in the industrial sector. Foreign sources (such as ammonia emissions from the livestock sector in Germany) and shipping contribute significantly to air pollution in the province. It is therefore important that the Netherlands actively engage in international and national policy making on air quality.


Provincial emission sources, in particular road traffic, contribute slightly more than 40 percent to the concentration of nitrogen dioxide in the province. The projected reduction of the nitrogen dioxide concentration will be slower in North Holland due to the expected growth of Schiphol Airport, and the extra road traffic this additional growth might attract. Provincial sources contribute less than 20 percent to the concentration of particulate matter. Households are an important source of PM2.5 emissions, primarily because of the burning of wood. Locally, particulate matter concentrations might still exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines in 2030, mainly due to the presence of heavy industry in the IJmond region. The WHO guidelines are stricter than the European standards for air quality. These are the results of research conducted by RIVM into air quality in the province of North Holland. For this report, the calculated concentration of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in 2015 was analyzed and the concentration of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in 2030 was calculated. This RIVM report was commissioned by the Province of North Holland in order to contribute to the development of an Environmental Planning Vision (“Omgevingsvisie”).

Keywords: air quality, environmental health, particulate matter, nitrogen
dioxide

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Icon image: Fotograaf: Irvin van Hemert. Luchtfoto Houthaven 2019, uit fotobank gemeente Amsterdam

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