The Air Quality (Ozone) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003

SCHEDULE 1 TARGET VALUES AND LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES FOR OZONE CONCENTRATIONS IN AMBIENT AIR

PART I definitions and interpretation

In this Schedule–

(a) all values shall be expressed in μg/m³;

(b) the volume shall be standardised at the following conditions of temperature and pressure: 293K and 101.3kPa;

(c) the time shall be specified in Central European Time;

(d) “AOT40” (expressed in (μg/m³)·hours) means the sum of the difference between hourly concentrations greater than 80μg/m³ (which equals 40 parts per billion) and 80μg/m³ over a given period using only the 1 hour values measured between 8:00 and 20:00 Central European Time each day;

in order to be valid, the annual data on exceedances used to check compliance with the target values and long-term objectives below must meet the criteria set out in Part II of Schedule 8.

PART II target values for ozone

	Parameter	Target value for 2010 (a)
(a) compliance with target values will be assessed as of this value. That is, 2010 will be the first year the data for which is used in calculating compliance over three or five years, as appropriate.
(b) the maximum daily 8-hour mean concentration shall be selected by examining 8-hour running averages, calculated from hourly data and updated each hour. Each 8-hour average so calculated shall be assigned to the day on which it ends – that is, the first calculation period for any one day shall be the period from 17:00 on the previous day to 01:00 on that day; the last calculation period for any one day will be the period from 16:00 to 24:00 on that day.
(c) if the three or five year averages cannot be determined on the basis of a full and consecutive set of annual data, the minimum annual data required for checking compliance with the target values shall be as follows: (i) for the target value for the protection of human health, valid data for one year; and (ii) for the target value for the protection of vegetation, valid data for three years.
1.  Target value for the protection of human health	Maximum daily 8-hour mean (b)	120μg/m3 not to be exceeded on more than 25 days per calendar year averaged over three years (c)
2.  Target value for the protection of vegetation	AOT40, calculated from 1h values from May to July	18,000μg/m3·h averaged over five years

PART III long-term objectives for ozone

	Parameter	Long-term objective
1.  Long-term objective for the protection of human health	Maximum daily 8-hour mean within a calendar year	120μg/m3
2.  Long-term objective for the protection of vegetation	AOT40, calculated from 1h values from May to July;	6,000μg/m3·h