A nationwide ban on the sale of smoky coal is expected to be announced by Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly today on the 25th anniversary of the ban on the sale of bituminous fuel in Dublin. The move is due to be unveiled at a clean-air conference organised by the Department of the Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Dublin ban was introduced by Mary Harney, then junior minister for the environment, in September 1990 after several years of severe winter smog resulting from the use of coal for home heating.

It had an immediate positive impact, significantly reducing smoke and sulphur dioxide levels and improving public health, particularly for those with cardiac or respiratory conditions such as asthma.

The ban was extended to Cork city in 1995 and is currently in force in 26 urban areas, including all towns with a population greater than 15,000. Researchers have estimated 8,200 lives have been saved as a result.

Attendees at today’s conference in the Dublin City Council offices at Wood Quay will hear from national and international experts in air quality. The present and future challenges of improving air quality will be discussed as well as policies to deal with air pollution on local, regional and global scales.

Air quality monitoring by the Environmental Protection Agency has shown levels of particulate matter are lower in areas where the bituminous fuel is in place than in towns where it does not apply.

The World Health Organisation has recognised that there is no safe level of air pollution and attendees at the conference will hear from national and international experts in air quality. The present and future challenges of improving air quality will be discussed as well policies to deal with air pollution on local, regional and global scale.