Unhealthy levels of pollution reach record high

Wednesday, 12 July 2017

The minimum safe level of air pollution has been breached 10 times in Blenheim this winter.

A record number of air quality breaches and higher pollution levels have hit Blenheim hard this winter.

Unhealthy levels of pollution have been recorded by the Marlborough District Council 10 times this year, compared with four times in 2016.

Council staff have attributed the lack of wind as a possibility for the air quality failures, which contravene the minimum health standards laid out by the Ministry of Health.

A council spokeswoman said the number of breaches could be due to the climatic conditions experienced this winter.

* Pollution means end to open fires

* Blenheim air pollution limits broken four times, night pollution three times the limit**

'Frosty nights with no wind creates an inversion layer, trapping and concentrating the air pollutants,' the spokeswoman said.

Council staff are obligated to inform the public every time the pollution standard is exceeded.

The Ministry of Health allowed for one breach a year for the number of pollution particles measuring less than 10 micro metres across (PM10); about a fifth of the thickness of a human hair.

This limit is typically exceeded up to four times a year in Blenheim.

The council has put forward new provisions to improve air quality in the proposed Marlborough Environment Plan. This could see a ban on the use of open fires and the phasing out of solid fuel burners older than 15 years.

But council have yet to enforce clean burning practices.

'Rather than take a heavy-handed regulatory approach, council has opted to promote clean burning practices through information and education,' the spokeswoman says.

Marlborough Research Centre liaison scientist Rob Agnew collects meteorological data for the Marlborough area.

While wind recordings were low in June and July, figures were in line with previous years when the number of breaches had been considerably less, Rob says.

An increase in pollution can cause an exacerbation of illness for people with respiratory issues such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In Blenheim, 92 per cent of air pollution is smoke from wood burned in home heating during winter nights. Industry, transport and outdoor burning contribute 8 per cent.

There are around 450 open fires in Blenheim.

The council spokeswoman says council is currently researching heating used by people in Marlborough and would look at enforcing clean air measures if necessary.

'If targets are not met, council may be limited in its ability to issue discharge consents which will have a possible impact on industry.'