Written question asked by Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bassam of Brighton (Labour) on Wednesday, 4 June 2008.

Airports: Heathrow

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:What progress has been made in reducing atmospheric pollution around Heathrow airport.

Answer: There was a significant downward trend in annual mean concentrations of nitrous oxides (NOx) at the airfield perimeter in the period 1993 to 2004, and a small downward trend in nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Concentrations of particulates (PM10) remained broadly constant over the period 2000 to 2004. These and other results were set out in the report of the Heathrow Air Quality Technical Panels in July 2006 published by the Department for Transport and available on its website at www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/heathrowsustain/. Our recent consultation on adding capacity at Heathrow airport shows that concentrations of all these pollutants around the airport are predicted to be within allowable limits in the event of further development.

Secondary information