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The air of Madrid breaks the law

2022-01-16T04:17:43.572Z


Only the capital in Spain exceeds the legal limit for nitrogen dioxide pollution. The European Court will rule on this in the first quarter of the year


Madrid is home to 24 stations that quantify air quality. Located in the Villaverde neighborhood, one of them had another life as a magazine and newspaper kiosk. It stands in front of Sulfato street, as if the traditional gazetteer tended to sarcasm. Perhaps its neighbors would give in to laughter if it were not for the worrying nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) data that the municipal measurement recorded in 2021. Only the capital has crossed the European margins in Spain, established at an average annual concentration of 40 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3). The Plaza Elíptica facility, located at a high-traffic point, has for the second consecutive year the dubious merit of being the only one to violate community law with 41 points. The next rank is occupied for the first time by Villaverde,thanks to some indicators that have worsened five micrograms. And for no apparent reason.

Plaza Elíptica constitutes a transport hub where three large streets converge with the Toledo highway. His station is the one that captures the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide since records exist. If the atmospheric information that comes from Villaverde draws the attention of the experts, it is because the environment seems much more peaceful. This meter is embraced by the hedges of the old Huerta del Obispo, today a charming garden with courts that almost merges with the Parque de Plata y Castañar. Vicente Quintín, 72, who came to the neighborhood in the aftermath of the dictatorship to work as a metallurgist, looks out at its viewpoint every morning. "From here you should be able to see the entire south of the city, but the pollution does not allow it," he holds with his hands crossed for a prayer to the god of time. "I don't want to die,but I cough a lot, it's the years in the workshop”.

You only have to cross a couple of blocks to verify that the hustle and bustle is there, but sheltered behind the facades. More specifically in the Paseo de los Ferroviarios, which connects with the Leganés highway, and in the Paseo de Plata and Castañar, through which myriads of trucks reach the Toledo highway in single file. Nearby are three logistics platforms that, according to Juan Bárcena —virologist and member of Ecologistas en Acción— increased emissions during confinement. It is true that the Villaverde station benefited from mobility restrictions to a lesser extent than the rest. From March 10 to June 20, 2020, the area reduced its emissions by 42% compared to the average for the same period of the previous decade. Plaza de Castilla or Arturo Soria experienced a decrease of 67% and 61% respectively.

Home delivery, in force during the worst of the confinement, is perhaps one of the factors that pollute the air in the area. Or at least that is what Bárcena deduces, who then stops at the average values ​​for the last quarter of 2021: “They are significantly higher than the average for the rest of the year. From October to December we observe a recovery in private mobility that exceeds the parameters prior to the health crisis. Until then, the validity of teleworking, the perimeter closures of health areas or the time limitation in bars and restaurants reduced the use of transport and therefore also the associated pollution. Of the more than 3,000 active traffic meters, 18% registered greater intensity in October than in the same period two years ago. The figure rose in December to 23%.

Road traffic seems to pick up clearly in the Centro district, where one in four meters exceeded the pre-pandemic rates in December. More vehicles can enter this low-emissions zone from September than while Madrid Central remained in force. An increase of 50,000 cars, almost all from dealers, according to Ecologistas en Acción. The City Council has drawn up a new perimeter with vehicle restrictions in the Plaza Elíptica, a toxic point par excellence. Non-resident passenger cars with environmental classification A —all gasoline cars registered before 2000 and diesel before 2006— will be prohibited from access, while cars with labels B and C will be able to enter, park and circulate without limitations. Since the first of January,the central almond of the entire city will be governed by similar parameters. Never before had a provision of such dimensions been implemented in Madrid.

A group of people crosses a pedestrian crossing in Legazpi square. DAVID EXPOSITO

Other actions that seek to mitigate air degradation are also underway. Such as the works to decongest traffic in the Nudo Norte or the Cambia 360 Aid Plan, endowed with 110 million euros over the next three years, in order to encourage the renewal of the fleets. Councilor for the Environment Borja Carabante foresees that all this will translate throughout 2022 into an improvement in the NO₂ indices. “It is true that in the last quarter we have seen an increase in road traffic, but in the modal distribution it can be seen that public transport is recovering passengers. That is the trend”, argues the councilman. “On the other hand, the last months of the year are always worse for these pollution data. The concentration measured by the stations is higher due to weather conditions,although emissions remain stable. We cannot change that, but we can work on reducing gases”.

chronic exposure

Beyond the fact that the annual average indicators do not comply with European legislation, Madrid passes another community test with flying colors: the hourly values ​​of nitrogen dioxide, pollution peaks that last year were at their historical minimum. Something different is the scope of this achievement, which Cristina Linares, a scientist at the National School of Health of the Carlos III Health Institute and an adviser to the World Health Organization (WHO), downplays: "The authorities often pay attention to the most polluting episodes, but what really affects health are high annual values, such as those in Madrid, because they involve chronic exposure. NO₂ precipitates previous cardiovascular or respiratory disease. In the long term, however, it participates in the development of the disease and is related to lung cancer,breast, digestive or bladder. It accentuates outbreaks of diseases such as Alzheimer's or dementia."

“It has special danger for vulnerable people, but also fetuses. Many studies link contamination to low birth weight and prematurity. And we are talking about a nine-month exposure, in periods of decades the consequences can be terrible”, continues the expert. This is the kind of criteria that the WHO adopted when it set new recommended air quality thresholds in September last year: 10 micrograms per cubic meter. Only Badajoz, Benidorm, Cáceres, Elda, Palencia, Telde and Zamora would meet such a standard in Spain, surpassed in turn by all the great capitals of the Union. Linares is exhaustive in this regard: “In class the example of the Olympic Games always comes up. In order for them to be held, the host cities are able to drastically reduce their pollution levels.The case of Athens or Beijing is famous, which show that this has a lot of political will”.

Brussels approved three years ago the complaint against Spain before the Court of Justice of the European Union for non-compliance with the pollution limits in Madrid and the Barcelona metropolitan area, which has already resolved the fault.

The capital, on the other hand, has not complied with these guidelines since they came into force in 2010. The ruling is expected to be made public in the first quarter of this year.

A Commission official avoids talking about fines, since there is no precedent.

It does consider that, if found guilty, “Spain will have the obligation to adopt the necessary measures to comply with the sentence as soon as possible.

It is up to each Member State to choose which method to use.”

And that Vicente Quintín can see the horizon in Villaverde.

Values ​​far removed from the WHO recommendations

The nitrogen dioxide that crosses the sky of the cities comes mostly from the oxidation of NO, whose main source is the emissions originating in the combustion engines of automobiles. Above all, diesel vehicles, as stated in the air quality guides of the World Health Organization (WHO). As a chemical compound, it is thus a good indicator of traffic-related pollution, one of the main causes of climate change. And it is that this compound intervenes in various atmospheric reactions, producing both tropospheric ozone and other secondary suspended particles.

The average nitrogen dioxide indicators recorded in the Madrid network during 2021 are far from the value recommended by the WHO in September 2021 (10 μg/m3) for adequate protection of human health.

Not even the suburban stations (such as El Pardo, Casa de Campo or Juan Carlos I) come close to the parameters that Cristina Linares, a scientist at the National School of Health of the Carlos III Health Institute and advisor to the international organization, interprets as the horizon to address: "They are ambitious, but they must become an objective for public administrations".

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2022-01-16

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