AQE 2013 Conference Details Announced

The organisers of AQE 2013, the Air Quality and Emissions show (formerly ‘MCERTS’), have announced a comprehensive conference programme for the event which will take place in Telford, UK, on 13th and 14th March.

Previous events were known as ‘MCERTS’ because they addressed industrial emissions to air, but the focus of AQE 2013 has been expanded to incorporate all factors affecting air quality. This means that the 2013 event will not just include large industry, but will also cover the smaller industries and processes that are regulated by Local Authorities. The focus on testing and monitoring will remain, but ambient air quality will be addressed in addition to environmental emissions and workplace exposure. As a result, the theme of the first day of the conference will be ambient air quality monitoring and the theme of the second day will be industrial emissions to air.

Reflecting the objective of the European Commissioner for the Environment, the overall conference theme will be ‘2013 – Year of Air’ and many of the sector’s leading authorities on air quality have agreed to speak at the Conference.

Day 1: Ambient Air Conference, 13th March (*approved by IAQM for CPD)
Brian Stacey, an air quality expert from Defra will outline EU and UK air quality policy, followed by Prof. Frank Kelly from King’s College London, who will then discuss the future of air quality monitoring. He will discuss recent advances in sensor, data storage and communication technologies which have led to an expanding range of time resolved mobile sensors for air pollution, and how these sensors present an opportunity to make a step change improvement in the quality, accuracy and scope of reliable exposure metrics for use in population studies, thereby helping to establish a more robust and targeted link between air pollution and negative health outcomes. Prof. Roy Harrison from Birmingham University will deliver a presentation in which he will explain how to gain added value from monitoring data by understanding air pollution processes. He will illustrate some of the scientific advances which have been derived from the analysis of routinely collected data and will cite examples including explanations of relative nitrogen dioxide and NOx concentrations, ultrafine particle emissions, sulphate concentrations and PM10. Emily Jarvis from SIRA will outline the role of instrument equivalence and MCERTS certification of continuous ambient air quality monitoring systems (CAMs) and a speaker representing local authorities will explain how Section 106 agreements have successfully enabled air quality monitoring programmes to ensure that development does not have a detrimental effect on air quality.
(*This conference has been approved by the Institute of Air Quality Management for Continuing Professional Development)

Day 2: Process Emissions Conference, 14th March
Richard Vincent, Head of Industrial Pollution Control at Defra will explain the significance of the Industrial Emissions Directive with particular reference to the Directive’s prescriptions concerning best available techniques and their use in environmental permitting. Other speakers, including Rod Robinson from NPL and Carsten Roellig from TÜV will also cover European legislation, monitoring methods and standards. Paul Wiggins, from the Environment Agency will then discuss Operator Monitoring Assessment (OMA), which provides a systematic tool for auditing the monitoring provisions required by an operator’s permit by scoring the degree of risk. Odour is an increasing concern in many areas and Nana Ampomah, also from the Environment Agency, will explain the role of odour management plans.

AQE 2013 ( www.AQEshow.com ) will take place at the International Centre in Telford and in addition to the Conference, visitors will also be able to attend Workshops providing practical advice and case studies, and an Exhibition featuring almost all of the world’s leading providers of monitoring equipment and services.