Working to improve air quality in our region
Community and Public Health provides a supporting role to Environment Canterbury for monitoring and policy responses to ambient air quality issues and improvements.
Environment Canterbury is responsible for monitoring of Canterbury air quality.
Ministry for the Environment develops national indicators and strategies on air quality.
Report shows New Zealand air quality is good
Ministry for the Environment media release: 18th October 2018
An environmental report produced by the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ shows that air quality in New Zealand is generally good.
‘Our Air 2018’ shows that progress has been made and levels of some pollutants are declining, while some previously known issues persist.
“The report shows that using wood and coal burners to heat homes in winter continues to cause issues in some places. This remains the largest single cause of human-generated poor air quality in New Zealand,” Government Statistician Liz MacPherson said. “The report also shows vehicle emissions as a leading cause of poor air quality in some places.”
“However information from monitoring sites shows levels of some particulate matters have decreased over the past decade. This is a welcome sign, as is the resulting slight improvement in overall health outcomes,” Ms MacPherson said.
“This report paints a series of separate pictures. The overall news is good, but we still have some specific issues to address. Progress is being made with those but there’s more to do,” Deputy Secretary at the Ministry for the Environment Amanda Moran said.
Air pollution and air quality in New Zealand
New Zealand research suggests that ambient air pollution is responsible for an estimated 970 premature deaths each year in people over 30 years of age, approximately 400 of which are from vehicle emissions. Fine particles are produced in the combustion of fuel pose greater health risks than previously thought – these are known as PM10 and PM2.5. Harmful gases also affect air quality such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, benzene and nitrogen dioxide.
There are several different sources of air pollution:
- Burning wood, coal, gas, diesel or other materials for home heating such as domestic fires are the main contributor to ambient air pollution in many parts of New Zealand.
- Cars, buses, off-road vehicles, trucks, planes and diesel trains produce exhaust containing fine particles and other air pollutants. Traffic can also create dust.
- Many industrial processes release air pollutants as well as burning wood, coal, gas, diesel or other materials for heating commercial or public buildings like schools and hospitals.
- Natural sources include wind-blown dust, pollen, sea salt, volcanic ash and bio-aerosols.
Children, elderly people and those with respiratory diseases are more vulnerable to air pollution and areas of high deprivation have greater excess mortality from air pollution. The infographic below shows the health impacts of the common air pollutants.
Find out more about the health effects of some common air pollutants (Ministry for the Environment).
Documents
- Canterbury Air Regional Plan (Environment Canterbury 2017)
- Options for research to enhance national air quality information for environmental reporting (Ministry for the Environment 2016)
- Airshed progress report 2012 (Ministry for the Environment 2014)
- Updated Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand Study: Summary Report (Health Research Council, Ministry of Transport, Ministry for the Environment and NZ Transport Agency 2012)
- Clean Healthy Air for All New Zealanders: The National Air Quality Compliance Strategy to Meet the PM10 standard (Ministry for the Environment 2011)
- Revised National Environmental Standards for Air Quality: Evaluation under Section 32 of the Resource Management Act (Ministry for the Environment 2011)
Links
- Air Quality (Ministry for the Environment)
- Let’s Clear the Air (Environment Canterbury)
- Air Quality in Canterbury (LAWA)
- Vehicle Exhaust Emissions (NZTA)
Contact your local CPH office for further information:
CANTERBURY
Ph: +64 3 364 1777
Fax: +64 3 379 6125
SOUTH CANTERBURY
Ph: +64 3 687 2600
Fax: +64 3 688 6091
WEST COAST
Ph: +64 3 768 1160
Fax: +64 3 768 1169
For additional information, contact:
ECAN Winter Air Pollution Forecast
Ph: +64 3 353 9004
Trend towards cleaner and healthier air in Canterbury continues
Environment Canterbury media release: 31st August 2018
Six of Canterbury’s eight airsheds have met the government’s health-based guidelines so far this year – compared to four last year. Timaru and Christchurch are the only two airsheds that did not meet guidelines this year.
Environment Canterbury Chair Steve Lowndes says this positive result shows the initiatives in the Air Plan and the plan that came before it, are working.
“The trend towards cleaner, healthier air in our urban communities is continuing. Thank you to thousands of Cantabrians who have upgraded to cleaner heating technology and to those who have been burning with no visible smoke from their chimneys,” he said. “Changes to air quality do not happen overnight, but we are moving in the right direction and we are confident the initiatives in the Air Plan will help us see further progress over time.”
Air pollution can be an issue in Canterbury’s urban centres, mainly during the coldest months. The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality allow no more than one high pollution day per year in Rangiora, Geraldine and Washdyke, and no more than three high pollution days per year in Kaiapoi, Christchurch, Ashburton, Timaru and Waimate.
- Find out more about Canterbury air quality during the winter of 2018 (Environment Canterbury).
Canterbury Regional Air Plan
Community and Public Health has a joint work plan with Environment Canterbury around common areas of interest, including air quality.
One example of this collaboration was the review of the Regional Air Plan. A joint Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the Air Plan was done to assess the potential impact of proposed plan changes on population health.
The HIA revealed that air quality is closely linked with housing, heating, and energy use, and these factors need to be considered when dealing with unintended health consequences. The HIA recommendations included the carefully phased introduction of home heating changes along with supporting measures, such as targeted heating and insulation subsidies.
- Read the Health Impact Assessment of the Canterbury Regional Air Plan.
- Read the CDHB Submission on the Proposed Canterbury Regional Air Plan.
- Read the Canterbury Air Regional Plan – released in October 2017.
