Appendix 1 - Air Quality impact of barbecues

Currently, Islington Council allows barbecues in parks run by the council.

Previously there has been public opposition to barbecues, particularly in parks such as Highbury Fields, in relation to their effect on meeting national air quality objective annual average concentration levels of PM2.5.

The current national air quality objective for PM2.5, the main pollutant from barbecues, is an annual average of 20 µg/m3 or below. Modelling across London by the GLA suggests that all areas in Islington have annual average levels of PM2.5 of 16 µg/m3 or below.

Studies at Highbury Fields have shown that the use of barbecues do not cause breaches of the current national air quality objective for PM2.5 average annual levels of 20 µg/m3 or below.

As such restricting barbecues use to meet the national air quality objective for PM2.5, has not, to date, been a convincing argument.

This is also true when we look at exposure to air pollutants rather than concentrations. The nature of barbecues is that they are held outdoors which increases the dispersion of pollutants and so means that exposure, to the general population, is relatively low unless you are in the very immediate vicinity of a barbecues.

The Government have consulted on changing the national air quality objective for PM2.5. This consultation proposes lowering the concentration target from 20 µg/m3 to 10 µg/m3. Consultation on environmental targets - Defra - Citizen Space

This proposed change, if enacted, will mean that the whole of Islington will not meet the new standards. Requirements of the Clean Air Act 1995 and the Environment Act 2021 will mean that Islington Council will be required to take action to reduce PM2.5 in the borough to come in line with the any new national air quality objectives.

Restricting barbecue use in parks, would be a visible measure to take that will show Islington is serious about tackling air pollution and meeting the new targets.

Further points

To meet the new proposed national air quality objectives Islington Council will need to reduce all discretionary burning of solid fuels as well as going beyond this and replacing fossil fuels with alternative sources. This work is very much in line with the NZC Strategy and wider climate change actions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) guideline levels were changed in 2021. These are not legally binding but are an indication of the best levels to protect health. The WHO recommend that for PM2.5 there should be an annual average concentration of 5 µg/m3. This is lower than the proposed new national air quality objective levels.

Background information on PM2.5

It is widely acknowledged that air pollution poses the biggest environmental risk to public health and is a particular risk to vulnerable groups, including the elderly, the very young, and those with existing health conditions. It can also impact the natural environment, damaging habitats, impeding the ecosystem services we rely on, and contributing to climate change. Although air pollution has reduced significantly in recent decades, there is more to do to deliver clean air.

The new targets focus on reducing concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) as evidence shows that this is the pollutant of greatest harm to human health. Particulate matter (PM) is anything in the air that is not a gas. It can come from natural sources (volcanos, Saharan sand, sea salt, soil erosion etc.) or human-made sources (brake and tyre wear, solid fuel burning etc.) and be formed through chemical reactions between other pollutants in the atmosphere. PM2.5 is particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less, which is one 400th of a millimetre.

Whilst it is likely that some components of PM2.5 may be more harmful than others, evidence is not sufficiently developed to be able to focus on specific components for the purposes of these new proposed targets. Therefore, current evidence supports a focus on PM2.5 total mass. However, as the evidence develops, there may be scope to develop more specific targets that are able to align more closely with the most harmful components of PM2.5.

The London Local Atmospheric Emission Inventory (LAEI) shows that the top three sources of PM2.5 in Islington come from:

Commercial cooking – 37%

Road Transport – 24%

Biomass burning (including BBQs) – 9.7%

Recommendation

To restrict the use of solid fuelled barbecues, in all Islington Council parks due to the new upcoming air quality targets.

Report Author - Andrew Ford Environmental Pollution Manager