Spain is Europe’s worst polluter, says EU study

IT might be a leader in wind and solar energy, but Spain is Europe’s biggest polluter, according to a new report.

In an EU Environment Agency study Spain failed three out of four criteria tests for pollution.

It is the only country in Europe to fail in a trio of sections.

The only area where it did not fail was in sulphur dioxide levels.

Most damningly, the country was found to be emitting 53,000 tonnes more nitrogen oxide than is permitted, and 15,400 more tons of ammonia.

Barcelona and Madrid were found to be the two EU cities with the greatest atmospheric contamination, which is largely down to traffic density.

Indeed traffic levels are the cause of most of the contamination says the EU – an issue Spain has never addressed seriously.

Pollution is thought to currently cause over 3,500 deaths per year in Barcelona alone.

It is the first time Brussels has compared EU countries against each other.