Malta exceeds air quality threshold 52 times a day – Gonzi

Malta has exceeded the EU’s air quality emissions target 52 times in a day, when the Commission allows this to happen for only 35 times, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi told Parliament last week.

Gonzi was replying to a Parliamentary Question asked by Labour MP Evarist Bartolo on the case which the Commission had instigated against Malta in June 2009regarding air quality levels.

The PM said that the Malta Environment & Planning Authority had examined the data produced by the air quality monitoring station in Msida, and this had shown that the allowable limit had been exceeded 52 times in a day when the Commission allowed this to happen only 35 times.

He said that Malta had applied for an extension to the limit stipulated by the EU Commission, and that was why the plan had for air quality monitoring had been initiated. After several methodologies used, it was accepted that in 16 instances, the pollution exceeding levels came from the Sahara while a further six came from aerosols in the sea. The Commission therefore dropped its case against Malta.

The PM said that the Commission had accepted Malta’s explanation but insisted that MEPA was committed to implement the plan on air quality which was published in January of this year.