Air quality

Abstract

Air quality in a country is generally determined by economic activity. In Malta, industrial production is heavily reliant on electrical energy and thus, the most serious air pollutants from industrial activity are principally those emitted from chimney stacks at the power houses in Marsa and Delimara. In addition to these two point sources of pollution, the other serious contributor to air pollution in Malta is transportation. Most of the petrol and especially diesel engine vehicles are not equipped with air pollution abatement equipment and thus their exhaust gases and particles are being emitted into the local ambient air with probable significant effects on air quality and health of the general population. Other lesser sources of air pollution, which may however be very important locally are: quarrying and construction activity; incinerators; dockyard activities; fuel storage and dispensing; garage industries involving spray paint operations; landfill sites; concrete batching plants and fireworks. The detailed state of pollution of Malta’s ambient air is largely unknown since no robust monitoring programme of air pollutant measurements was ever undertaken prior to 1997; at the time of writing (1999), such monitoring work is still lacking. The only information on local air quality as exists derives from sporadic publications from academics at the University of Malta and some data generated by the Pollution Control Coordinating Unit (PCCU) of the Environment Protection Department. The present report is based on such data as has appeared up to 1997.