Vauxhall's factory at Ellesmere Port is to be one of four plants in Europe that will build the new Astra.
Most nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the air is present because of high temperature combustion of fossil fuels. Road traffic produces about 50% of the total UK emissions, although power stations and industrial processes are also important sources. Along with tighter controls on industry, the introduction of catalytic converters has resulted in a halving of UK emissions.
Visit the NAEI website for information on the national emissions of NO2.
You can discover more about industrial NO2 emissions on the Environment Agencys pollution inventory.
NO2 is an irritant gas, and high exposure can affect the way that the lungs and airways function - aggravating asthma, for example. Because it can have both short- and long-term health effects, an hourly objective and an annual objective have been set. See our National Air Quality Standards page.
Elevated concentrations of NO2 on parts of the A5032 in Ellesmere Port town centre have led to the declaration of an Air Quality Management Area.
NO2 is monitored at a total of 31sites across the borough using both passive diffusion tubes and automated 'real-time' techniques. NO2 levels over the last seven days.
The graph below shows that there is a general downwards trend in ambient NO2 at most sites. This is consistent with the improvements in vehicle emission technology.
