How good is the air that I breathe?

These days, if your health is good, the air pollution we get for most of the time in Herefordshire is unlikely to seriously affect you. However, on the rare occasions when air pollution levels are very high, a small number of people may be affected.

Herefordshire Council has studied the air pollution data collected over the years and has undertaken a series of air quality reviews and assessments across the entire county since 1999. This work has highlighted only three areas where the level of pollution (caused by nitrogen dioxide) can at times exceed the government’s objective for the pollutant nitrogen dioxide.

These three areas are:

Location	Description	Approx. number of houses in area	Pollution objective exceeded
Hereford Area designated in the Hereford City Air Quality Management Area (Nitrogen Dioxide)	The A49(T) corridor in Hereford, extending from Holmer Road in the north to Belmont Road in the south and extending east along New market/Blue School Street and west along Eign Street as far as Barton Yard.	160	Nitrogen Dioxide annual mean
Leominster Area designated in the Bargates (Leominster) Air Quality Management Area (Nitrogen Dioxide)	An area encompassing the junction between the A44 (Bargates) and B4361 (Dishley Street/Cursneh Road) in Leominster.	20	Nitrogen Dioxide annual mean
Wilton to Pencraig Area yet to be declared	The A40 corridor from Wilton to Pencraig.	30	Nitrogen dioxide annual mean

These areas are discussed more fully in the Air Quality Management Areas and Action Plans page.