Guide to online measurements
AIR
In Hungary, the following legislation applies to air quality:
Decree 4/2002 (X. 7.) KvVM on the designation of air pollution agglomerations and zones.
Decree 306/2010 (XII. 23.) Korm. on air protection.
Decree 4/2011 (I. 14.) VM on air pollution level limits and emission limit values for stationary air pollution point sources.
Decree No 6/2011 (I. 14.) VM on the rules for the investigation, monitoring and assessment of air pollution levels and emissions from stationary sources.
The health limit values are set by Decree 4/2011 (I.14) VM, in accordance with EU Directives 2008/50/EC and 2004/106 EC (and its amendment, EU 2015/1480).
The health limit values and target values for air pollution levels are set out in Annex 1 to VM Regulation 4/2011 (14.I.2011):
The limit values, target values, long-term objectives, information and alert thresholds apply to air with a temperature of 293 K and a pressure of 101.3 kPa. The limit values and target values for particulate matter (PM10 and PM2,5) and pollutants in particulate matter refer to the ambient conditions at the time of measurement.
| Pollutants | Limits (µg/m³) | Target (µg/m³) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hours | 24 hours | annual | annual | |
| O3 | - | *120 | - | - |
| NO2 | 100 | 85 | 40 | - |
| SO2 | 250 | 125 | 50 | - |
| CO | 10 000 | *5 000 | 3 000 | - |
| PM₂.₅ | - | - | **25 | - |
| PM₁₀ | - | 50*** | 40 | - |
| 3,4-Benz(a)pirén | - | 0,001 | 0,0012 | 0,001 |
| Nikkel | - | - | 0,025 | 0,02 |
| Arzén | - | - | 0,01 | 0,006 |
| Kadmium | - | - | 0,005 | 0,005 |
| Króm | - | - | 0,05 | - |
| Higany | - | - | 1 | - |
| Ólom | - | - | 0,3 | - |
*maximum of 8-hour daily moving average concentrations
**From 1 January 2020, the indicative limit value for PM2,5 is 20 μg/m3 according to Annex 1, point 1.2.4. of Decree 4/2011 (14.I.) VM.
***not to be exceeded more than 35 times in any calendar yea
Design guidelines for certain air pollutants:
| Pollutants | design reference values (µg/m3) | |
|---|---|---|
| hours | 24 hours | |
| nitrous oxides | 200 | 150 |
| toluol | 600 | 200 |
| ethylbenzene | 20 | 20 |
| xilol | 200 | 60 |
| cobalt | - | 0,1 |
| manganese | - | 1 |
| copper | - | 1 |
| acetone | 350 | 350 |
| NMP | 100 | 50 |
Information and alert thresholds:
| Pollutants | Information threshold (μg/m3) | Alarm threshold (μg/m3) |
|---|---|---|
| SO2 | 400* | 500 exceeded 400 for three consecutive hours or more than 72 hours |
| NO2 | 350* | 400 exceeded 350 for three consecutive hours or more than 72 hours |
| CO | 20000* | 30000 exceeded 20000 for three consecutive hours or more than 72 hours |
| PM₁₀ | 75** | 100** |
| O3 | 180* | 240 exceeded 180 for three consecutive hours or more than 72 hours |
*for three consecutive hours
** no improvement for two consecutive days and no improvement for the next day according to the weather forecas
Air pollution index
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a numerical indicator of the air quality at a particular place and time, and how it may affect health. As the level of air pollution increases, the AQI rises and with it the health risk.
Here we use the Air Quality Index (AQI), which was introduced in the EU in 2017 and is still in use. Air quality is classified into 6 categories based on the main pollutants: excellent, good, fair, polluted, highly polluted and extremely polluted.
The index takes into account the mass concentration values of the following pollutants:
- -Carbon monoxide (CO)
- -Nitrogen dioxide (NO2);
- -Ozone (O3);
- -Aerosol particles, sub 10 micron fraction (PM10);
- -Aerosol particles, sub 2.5 micron fraction (PM2,5);
- -Sulphur dioxide (SO2);
The ranges have been defined taking into account the risks of short-term effects of PM2,5, O3 and NO2.
Pollutant concentrations in μg/m3 for each air quality category
| Excellent | Good | Moderate | Polluted | Very Polluted | Extremely Polluted | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO | 0-4000 | 4000-8000 | 8000-10000 | 10000-20000 | 20000-30000 | 30000-50000 |
| PM₂.₅ | 0-10 | 10-20 | 20-25 | 25-50 | 50-75 | 75-800 |
| PM₁₀ | 0-20 | 20-40 | 40-50 | 50-100 | 100-150 | 150-1200 |
| NO₂ | 0-40 | 40-90 | 90-120 | 120-230 | 230-340 | 340-1000 |
| O₃ | 0-50 | 50-100 | 100-130 | 130-240 | 240-380 | 380-800 |
| SO₂ | 0-100 | 100-200 | 200-350 | 350-500 | 500-750 | 750-1250 |
Health proposals
The domains for the index are complemented by proposals that include recommendations on health status. These recommendations provide guidelines for both healthy people and vulnerable groups. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory or cardiovascular problems are usually the first sensitive groups to be affected by poor air quality.
| Air quality index | General population | Sensitive groups |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | Air quality is good. Enjoy the usual outdoor activities. | Air quality is good. Enjoy the usual outdoor activities |
| Good | Enjoy the usual outdoor activities. | Enjoy the usual outdoor activities. |
| Correspondent | Enjoy the usual outdoor activities. | Consider reducing intense outdoor activities if you experience symptoms. |
| Polluted | Consider reducing intense outdoor activities if you experience symptoms such as sore eyes, coughing or sore throat. | Consider reducing physical activity, especially outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms. |
| Heavily polluted | Consider reducing intense outdoor activities if you experience symptoms such as sore eyes, coughing or sore throat. | Reduce physical activity, especially outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms. |
| Extremely polluted | Reduce physical activity outdoors. | Avoid outdoor physical activities. |
Comparing and installing tools
Prior to installation, all AQMesh sensors were deployed by the experts at the measurement station of the HUN-REN Nuclear Research Institute for a period of 2 months. This allowed them to check how the sensors performed against the reference points and against each other. This comparison ensured the determination of instrument-specific correction factors. Following the benchmarking, the experts installed the devices at the 16 complex measuring stations of the Green Sentinel.
Air Quality (AQ) monitoring station, which tests 15 indicators and provides continuous data from each monitoring station.
