The air quality in the the City and Inner West could be far worse than the data shows and could explain why the Rozelle Air Quality measuring station needs upgrading. It unclear why the station has not been upgraded. The NSW Government website says the station was shutdown for an upgrade on the 14th February 2018, the was 5 days after the 2016 "The National Environment Protection Ambient Air Quality Measure NSW Annual Compliance Report 2016" was published.
"The Rozelle monitoring site is undergoing an upgrade, and there will be no data, from the 14th February 2018, until further notice."
The Vineyard monitoring site has been decommissioned and there will be no data until a new site is established." (http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/AQMS/aqi.htm viewed 16 April 2018)
Air monitoring stations in Sydney are only located at Bargo, Bringelly, Camden, Campbelltown West, Chullora, Earlwood, Lindfield, Liverpool, Macquarie Park, Oakdale, Parramatta North, Prospect, Randwick, Richmond, Rozelle, St Marys, Vineyard..http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/air/monitoring-air-quality/sydney/monitoring-stations (viewed 16 April 2018)
"During 2016, all NSW NEPM-designated stations [were] monitoring carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide complied with the NEPM goals. However, not all stations complied with the NEPM for particles and ozone." - The National Environment Protection Ambient Air Quality Measure NSW Annual Compliance Report 2016, http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/research-and-publications/publications-search/national-environment-protection-ambient-air-quality-measure-nsw-annual-compliance-report-2016
The report says "All AAQ stations within the network, except for Chullora, Earlwood, Rozelle and Tamworth, meet all the AAQ NEPM siting and exposure criteria (see Table 2 for further details)."
Rozelle Air Quality monitoring stationThe Rozelle Station did not meet the siting requirements. "Clear sky angle <120°. Less than 20 m from trees" with the excuse that "Trees have grown since establishment of station" (pg 5 of report table 2), The National Environment Protection Ambient Air Quality Measure NSW Annual Compliance Report 2016 was released on 9 February 2018 and the Rozelle Station was closed down for an upgrade on 14 Feb - this should not mean cutting down the trees!
The Rozelle Air Quality Monitoring Station was the air quality monitoring station for the CBD and Harbour. An air monitoring station in the CBD at intersection of George & Market Sts (33° 52' 21" 151° 11' 44") was shut down sometime ago.Spreadsheet of locations of monitoring stations, shows rozelle as active (viewed 16 April 2018)
The Sydney Particle Characterisation Study, spanning 15 years from 2000–14...Particles from cars declined by 40% over the 15 years, but motor vehicles remained a significant source of fine particle pollution. Pollution from vehicles contributed 1.45 μg/m³ or around 23% of total PM2.5 emissions....more
Over the last decade, nuclear techniques for studying fine particles in the atmosphere have improved significantly, moving from simply analysing their chemical composition to combining meteorological data, such as wind patterns and trajectory with statistical modelling, to define where the pollution actually came from...more
The air quality monitoring stations for the M4 East have been turned on. The monitoring stations are in pairs one as a control (Measure of background) and the other for contributions from a source".
Live Data from the Haberfield Monitoring Station is available at: http://airodis.ecotech.com.au/westconnex/index.html?site=0&station=0
The Rozelle Air Quality Station (site 7) was turned off on 14 Feb 2018. "ir quality index (AQI) and concentration values are updated hourly and a daily air quality forecast is made for the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Region at 4pm each day." "The Rozelle monitoring site is undergoing an upgrade, and there will be no data, from the 14th February 2018, until further notice." "The Vineyard monitoring site has been decommissioned and there will be no data until a new site is established." - Current and forecast air quality, http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/AQMS/aqi.htm, viwed 18 Mar 2018.
The Rozelle Station was located in the grounds of Rozelle Hospital, off Balmain Road, Rozelle. More about the Station here
"Trees also remove particulate matter from the atmosphere, particularly small particles which are a major health hazard in air pollution. Trees along urban roadways can reduce the presence of fine particulate matter in the atmosphere within a few hundred yards of the roadside verge. The total area of leaves is critical: a few trees with sparse leaves are less effective than a dense canopy. Trees with small or hairy leaves are best at removing particles." Trees and Air Pollution, By William H. Schlesinger, April 6, 2017 https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/04/06/trees-air-pollution-balance-ecosystem-services-ozone/
We all need to understand more about Air Quality (and Noise) what the data says what is being measured.
www.ramin.com.au/eco-sydney/air-pollution.shtml © Ramin Communications 2008-2018. Last modified 27 April 2018.
