Concern over soaring pollution levels in Spain's big cities (Feature)

By Sinikka Tarvainen Feb 10, 2011, 2:06 GMT

Madrid - The day is filled with sunlight, but the mountains near Madrid are no longer visible, having faded into the dark smog that hangs above the Spanish capital as pollution levels soar.

Madrid and Spain's second-largest city Barcelona exceed the European Union's safe contamination limits by far, according to Paco Segura from the environmentalist group Ecologistas en Accion.

In Madrid, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels as high as 380 micrograms per cubic metre have been measured in some places over the past week, while the EU limit only allows for a maximum of 200 micrograms during 18 hours in an entire year, Segura told the German Press Agency dpa.

NO2, which results mainly from car exhausts, is one of the pollutants that most worry environmentalists. But others have also increased, largely as a result of high atmospheric pressure which has prevented gases and particles from dispersing.

However, the pollution should not be blamed mainly on the weather, air quality expert Xavier Querol said.

Cars have replaced industry as the main source of contamination in Spain, but little has been done to reduce their impact on the environment, critics say.

Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, for instance, promised to keep the most contaminating types of cars away from the city centre already in 2008, but the measure has not yet been put into effect.

As pollution shot up this week, the city council put signs on motorway display panels advising residents to use public transport instead of their own vehicles.

'That has no effect whatsoever,' Segura complained. 'The city authorities only did it to give the impression that they were doing something about the problem.'

In Barcelona, the regional authorities are planning to cancel an earlier concession to environmentalists, which had set the speed limit on entrance roads to the city at 80 kilometres per hour. That plan has now been suspended until the current pollution subsides.

'Spanish drivers are not willing to leave the car at home,' said Angel Valencia Saiz, co-author of a study on environmental attitudes in Spain.

Only 10 per cent of Spaniards would drive less in order to protect the environment, compared with an EU average of 17 per cent, the study showed.

'Pollution may cost (politicians) votes, but closing the traffic would cost even more' votes, Valencia told the daily El Pais. And Spain's municipal elections are only three months away.

Madrid officials say the pollution levels are not dangerous, but environmentalists and medical doctors distrust such statements.

The Madrid authorities have tampered with pollution data by moving sensors from areas of heavy traffic to parks, according to Ecologistas en Accion, which is preparing to challenge the city council in court.

Even Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar accused Ruiz-Gallardon - a political opponent of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party - of 'cheating' with air quality data.

Aguilar on Wednesday announced that her ministry would launch a national action plan to improve air quality, in cooperation with provinces and municipalities.

Prosecutors specialized in environmental questions meanwhile announced an investigation into whether Spain's main cities met European legislation on air quality.

People suffering from asthma or allergies are already noticing the effect of the high contamination levels, which could cause even more health damage in the long run, including heart disease and tumors, according to medical experts.

Pollution causes about 1,700 premature deaths annually in Madrid alone, according to Ecologistas en Accion.

Madrid residents should avoid outdoor exercise until rain or wind cleans the air, lung specialist Jose Miguel Gonzalez advised.

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