首页
登录
职称英语
Up to 600 stations for monitoring air pollution across England could be shut
Up to 600 stations for monitoring air pollution across England could be shut
游客
2023-11-04
20
管理
问题
Up to 600 stations for monitoring air pollution across England could be shut down under new government plans to save money by cutting regulations.
Ministers want to remove obligations on local authorities to assess air quality in their areas, resulting in less monitoring. But environmental campaigners are accusing them of trying to hide one of the country’s biggest public health problems.
Government advisers have estimated that one type of pollutant—miniscule(微小的)particles from diesel engines, fossil fuel power stations and other sources—is killing 29,000 people a year in the UK, and costing health services about £ 16 billion.
But European air pollution limits meant to protect health are being breached in urban areas across the country, with the highest levels in London. According to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs(Defra), the limits for the toxic exhaust gas, nitrogen dioxide, were exceeded in 40 of the UK’s 43 air quality zones in 2010.
But now Defra has launched a six-week consultation, due to close on 30 August, proposing a radical overhaul of the local air quality management regime that has been in place since 1997. The proposals are aimed at helping meet ministers’ "red tape challenge" to roll back legislation in order to help businesses(choice).
The favoured option is to drop existing requirements for councils to make detailed assessments of air pollution. Defra’s analysis shows that this could lead to the closure of 600 monitoring sites, all of which measure nitrogen dioxide and a quarter of which also test for pollution from tiny particles.
The closures could save councils nearly £ 50m over 10 years, Defra suggests. The proposals only apply to England, and have been rejected by the Scottish government on the grounds that they "would deliver no obvious benefit".
"The UK government wants to hide air pollution and cares nothing for public health," said Simon Birkett, director of the campaign group, Clean Air in London. He points out that the consultation is taking place in the summer holidays and describes the financial saving as illusory.
He added: "Worse, the changes would mean the loss of key protections in the planning system and the very monitors and expertise needed now to improve air quality. "
Prof. Duncan Laxert, the managing director of Air Quality Consultants in Bristol, said that much of our understanding of air pollution has come from local authority monitoring: "It will be a retrograde step if the government’s preferred option is to lose this local knowledge. "
Defra insisted that the aim is to "reinvigorate and refocus" local air quality management. It said that the current regime was " diagnosis driven" and that " the level of local reporting can distract resources from air quality improvement". [br] The word "breached" in Paragraph Four probably means______.
选项
A、restricted
B、neglected
C、observed
D、overstepped
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3156175.html
相关试题推荐
Upto600stationsformonitoringairpollutionacrossEnglandcouldbeshut
Don’tgoacrosstheroadnow,______?A、doyouB、don’tweC、willyouD、shallweC反
"WhenEnglanddiscardsRoastBeef,"wroteDr.HunterofYorkin1806,"wem
"WhenEnglanddiscardsRoastBeef,"wroteDr.HunterofYorkin1806,"wem
"WhenEnglanddiscardsRoastBeef,"wroteDr.HunterofYorkin1806,"wem
EveryFebruary,acrossthecountry,candy,flowers,andgiftsareexchanged
EveryFebruary,acrossthecountry,candy,flowers,andgiftsareexchanged
EveryFebruary,acrossthecountry,candy,flowers,andgiftsareexchanged
Bonfirescancauselocalizedairpollutionandannoyneighbours.Followthe
Bonfirescancauselocalizedairpollutionandannoyneighbours.Followthe
随机试题
属于卵巢性索间质肿瘤的是()。A.浆液性囊腺瘤 B.子宫内膜样癌 C.卵泡
专利制度是一种从( )角度对发明创新进行激励的制度。A.生命 B.知识 C
叶状绒毛膜是指A.自绒毛膜板伸出的绒毛 B.悬浮于绒毛间隙中的绒毛 C.与底
“市场开拓经理、市场维护经理、风险经理”是根据()划分的。A.职责 B.
2011年我国全年货物进出口总额36421亿美元,比上年增长22.5%。其中,
某企业在财产清查中,发现盘亏设备一台,其账面原价为12000元,累计已计提折旧4
把规划和政策化为具体的社区矫正活动,同时根据将社会政策变为社会服务的活动的工作属
()是班级的组织者和领导者,对一个班集体的发展起着主导作用。 A.
下列不属于车辆购置税的纳税人是()A.在我国境内购置应税车辆自用的行政事业单位
9个月女孩,母乳喂养,面色蜡黄,表情呆滞,烦躁不安,肝肋下2cm,脾肋下1cm,
最新回复
(
0
)