S.L. 549.59 Art. 2Interpretation.

For the purpose of these regulations and unless the context otherwise requires:

"the Act" means the Environment Protection Act, or any other

Act substituting it; "agglomeration" means a zone that is a conurbation with a population in excess of 250,000 inhabitants or, where the population is 250,000 inhabitants or less, with a given population 2 density per km to be established by the competent authority;

"air quality plans" means plans that set out measures in order to attain the limit values or target values;

"alert threshold" means a level beyond which there is a risk to human health from brief exposure for the population as a whole and at which immediate steps are to be taken by the competent authority; "ambient air" means outdoor air in the troposphere, excluding workplaces within the scope of the Work Place (Minimum Health and Safety Requirements) Regulations, where provisions concerning health and safety at work apply and to which members of the public do not have regular access;

"arsenic", "cadmium", "nickel" and "benzo(a)pyrene" mean the total content of these elements and compounds in the PM 10 fraction; "assessment" means any method used to measure, calculate, predict or estimate levels; "average exposure indicator" means an average level determined on the basis of measurements at urban background locations throughout Malta and which reflects population exposure. It is used to calculate the national exposure reduction target and the exposure concentration obligation; "the competent authority" means the Environment and Resources Authority, or such other authority as may substitute it; "contributions from natural sources" means emissions of pollutants not caused directly or indirectly by human activities, including natural events such as volcanic eruptions, seismic activities, geothermal activities, wild-land fires, highwind events, sea sprays or the atmospheric re-suspension or transport of natural particles from dry regions;

"critical level" means a level fixed on the basis of scientific knowledge, above which direct adverse effects may occur on some receptors, such as trees, other plants or natural ecosystems but not on humans; "exposure concentration obligation" means a level fixed on the basis of the average exposure indicator with the aim of reducing harmful effects on human health, to be attained over a given period; "emission" means the discharge of substances into the air;

"fixed measurements" means measurements taken at fixed sites, either continuously or by random sampling, to determine the levels in accordance with the relevant data quality objectives; "group A pollutants" means sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter (PM and PM ), lead, 10 2.5 benzene and carbon monoxide; "group B pollutants" means Arsenic, Cadmium, Nickel and Benzo(a)pyrene; "group C pollutants" means benzo(a)anthracene, benzo(b)fluoranthene, benzo(j)fluoranthene, benzo(k) fluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, and dibenzo(a,h) anthracene; "indicative measurements" means measurements which meet data quality objectives that are less strict than those required for fixed measurements; "information threshold" means a level beyond which there is a risk to human health from brief exposure for particularly sensitive sections of the population and for which immediate and appropriate information is necessary; "level" means the concentration of a pollutant in ambient air or the deposition thereof on surfaces in a given time; "limit value" means a level fixed on the basis of scientific knowledge, with the aim of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on human health or the environment as a whole, to be attained within a given period and not to be exceeded once attained; "long-term objective" means a level to be attained in the long term, save where not achievable through proportionate measures, with the aim of providing effective protection of human health and the environment; "lower assessment threshold" means a level below which modelling or objective-estimation techniques alone may be used to assess ambient air quality; "margin of tolerance" means the percentage of the limit value by which that value may be exceeded subject to the conditions laid down in these regulations;

"Member State" means a Member State of the European Union; "the Minister" means the Minister responsible for the environment; "national exposure reduction target" means a percentage reduction of the average exposure of the population of Malta set for the reference year with the aim of reducing harmful effects on human health, to be attained where possible over a given period; "operator" means any natural or legal person who operates any industrial concern which has an adverse impact on air quality, or who has or has been delegated decisive economic power over the concern;

"oxides of nitrogen" means the sum of the volume mixing ratio

(ppbv) of nitrogen monoxide (nitric oxide) and nitrogen dioxide expressed in units of mass concentration of nitrogen dioxide (μg/ 3 m ); "ozone precursor substances" means substances which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, some of which are listed in Schedule 6;

"PM " means particulate matter which passes through a size-10 selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM , EN 12341, with a 50% efficiency cut-10 off at 10 μm aerodynamic diameter; "PM " means particulate matter which passes through a size-2.5 selective inlet as defined in the reference method for the sampling and measurement of PM , EN 14907, with a 50% efficiency cut-2.5 off at 2.5 μm aerodynamic diameter; "pollutant" means any substance present in ambient air and likely to have harmful effects on human health or the environment as a whole; "polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons" means those organic compounds, composed of at least two fused aromatic rings made entirely from carbon and hydrogen;

"target value" means a level fixed with the aim of avoiding, preventing or reducing harmful effects on human health or the environment as a whole, to be attained where possible over a given period; "Technical instruction on Air Quality Control" means the latest guidance note approved by the competent authority on air quality control; "total gaseous mercury" means elemental mercury vapour (Hg0) and reactive gaseous mercury, such as water-soluble mercury species with sufficiently high vapour pressure to exist in the gas phase;

"total or bulk deposition" means the total mass of pollutants which is transferred from the atmosphere to surfaces (such as soil, vegetation, water, buildings, etc.) in a given area within a given time; "upper assessment threshold" means a level below which a combination of fixed measurements and modelling techniques or indicative measurements may be used to assess ambient air quality;

"urban background locations" means places in urban areas where levels are representative of the exposure of the general urban population; "volatile organic compounds" (VOC) means organic compounds from anthropogenic and biogenic sources, other than methane, that are capable of producing photochemical oxidants by reactions with nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight;

"zone" means any part of Malta as delimited by the competent authority for the purposes of air quality assessment and management.