Environment

The principle objective of air quality impact assessment is to give the community an acceptable assessment of the air quality changes brought about through a significant road project. The initial in-house scoping of a significant road project, requiring an environmental impact assessment, should provide the community with an assessment of the air quality changes on local, regional and national scales. The assessment should consider both the potential environmental impacts, and the extent of those impacts. Rather than providing a definitive manual for assessing all air quality issues, these guidelines have been developed to make transport practitioners aware of the important issues relating to air quality. The guidelines cover such steps as preliminary assessment, full-scale air quality studies, air quality assessment, and assessment outcomes. Additionally, the guidelines look to current air quality concerns in a global, regional and urban context, and outline the types and sources of pollutants impacting on air quality.