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Air NEPM Monitoring Report 2014 – Tasmania

TASMANIAN AIR MONITORING REPORT

2014

COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL

ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION (AMBIENT

AIR QUALITY) MEASURE FOR 2014

BY TASMANIAAugust 2018

–


1 Executive Overview

This report presents the results of air quality monitoring in Tasmania for 2014 andassesses these against the requirements of the National Environment Protection(Ambient Air Quality) Measure (Air NEPM)1. An electronic copy of this andprevious years’ reports, together with general air quality data tables, are avail-able on the EPA Tasmania’s website2.

The Air NEPM establishes:

• Requirements for monitoring air quality,

• Air quality standards that are levels of specified pollutants against whichair quality can be assessed,

• An achievement goal that the air quality standards, including the PM10 standard,are met by 2008 to the extent specified in the NEPM,

• An air quality goal of no more than 5 exceedences of the PM10 standardper year.

Monitoring was performed in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport, in accordancewith the Tasmanian monitoring plan3, Air NEPM Technical Papers and theEPA Tasmania’s NATA accreditation.

As an island with a cool climate and a relatively dispersed population, Tas-mania experiences very low ambient levels of industrial and vehicle generatedairborne pollutants, such as ozone (O3), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen diox-ide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). Screening studies and other monitoringdemonstrate these pollutants are not issues for Tasmanian ambient air quality.

The major contribution to air pollution in Tasmania is smoke. Sources in-clude from domestic wood heaters in winter and agricultural, hazard–reductionand forestry burning, which predominantly occur in autumn. There is alsosmoke from bushfires in the summer months.

In 2014 annual data–capture rates for PM10 in excess of 75% were achievedat all three Tasmanian NEPM monitoring stations of Hobart, Devonport, andLaunceston. Data–capture rates above 75% were also obtained in each quarterof the year at Hobart and Devonport, and in all except the first quarter atLaunceston.

In 2014 there were no exceedence days for PM10 at any of the three stationsat Hobart, Launceston and Devonport.

The 24–hour advisory standard for particles (as PM2.5 ) was exceeded on 1day in Hobart and 11 days in Launceston during 2014. There were no excee-dences of the 24–hour PM2.5 advisory standard at Devonport in 2014.

The Reporting Standard for annual average PM2.5 concentration (8 µg m−3 )was met in Hobart (6.7 µg m−3 ) and Devonport (6.8 µg m−3 ) , but not inLaunceston (8.7 µg m−3 ).

1National Environment Protection Measure for Ambient Air Quality, National Environ-ment Protection Council publications www.scew.gov.au/nepms/ambient-air-quality

2Air Monitoring Reports on Compliance with the National EnvironmentProtection Measure (Ambient Air Quality) by Tasmania are available fromhttp://epa.tas.gov.au/epa/air/monitoring-air-pollution/annual-nepm-reports

3National Environment Protection Measure For Ambient Air Quality, Monitoring Plan forTasmania, May 2001, available from http://epa.tas.gov.au/epa/tasmanian-programs

– 1 EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW


Contents

1 Executive Overview 2

2 Air NEPM Monitoring Summary 52.1 Description of the exposed population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.2 Implementation of the monitoring plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.3 Monitoring methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.4 NATA status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.5 Screening for other pollutants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.6 PM2.5 monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Assessment of compliance with Standards and Goals 93.1 Carbon monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.2 Nitrogen dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.3 Ozone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103.4 Sulphur Dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.5 Particles as PM10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.6 Particles as PM2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113.7 Lead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4 Analysis of Air Quality Monitoring 124.1 Carbon monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.2 Nitrogen dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.3 Ozone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.4 Sulphur Dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.5 Particles as PM10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124.6 Particles as PM2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134.7 Summary of progress towards achieving the Air NEPM goal . . . 13

4.7.1 Compliance in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134.7.2 Notes on trends in compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5 Trends and pollution distributions 175.1 Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.2 Nitrogen dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.3 Ozone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.4 Sulphur Dioxide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.5 Particles as PM10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175.6 Particles as PM2.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

6 Discussion 216.1 Particle levels in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216.2 Historical overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

A Non–NEPM monitoring in Tasmania 36A.1 George Town Air Monitoring station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36A.2 BLANkET network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

– CONTENTS


B Monitoring regions 39B.1 Hobart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

B.1.1 Region Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39B.1.2 Population and Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39B.1.3 Meteorology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39B.1.4 Hobart: New Town Performance and Trend station . . . . 39

B.2 Launceston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43B.2.1 Region Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43B.2.2 Population and Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43B.2.3 Meteorology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43B.2.4 Launceston: Ti Tree Bend Performance and Trend station 45

B.3 Devonport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45B.3.1 Region Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45B.3.2 Population and Topography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45B.3.3 Meteorology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47B.3.4 Devonport: Valley road TAFE Performance and Trend

station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

C Australian Standard Methods 49

– CONTENTS


2 Air NEPM Monitoring Summary

Under Clause 18 of the National Environmental Protection (Ambient Air Qual-ity) Measure (Air NEPM), jurisdictions are required to submit an annual re-port on their compliance with the measure in an approved form. Content andformat requirements for the annual report are detailed in the Air NEPM Tech-nical Paper No. 8 which is available at http://www.scew.gov.au/resource/ephc-archive-ambient-air-quality-nepm. Tasmania’s Air NEPM air monitoring planwas approved by the National Environment Protection Council Ministers in2001. Three Tasmanian regions with sufficient population to warrant the estab-lishment of NEPM monitoring stations are defined in the monitoring plan. Thedetails of the regional topography, climate, air pollution potential and popula-tion exposures are listed in Appendix B.

The Hobart, Launceston and Devonport regions have permanent perfor-mance monitoring stations, as listed in Table 1. A location map is given inFigure 1.

For completeness, it is noted that a peak CO monitoring station operatedin Macquarie Street, Hobart CBD in 2011 and 2012, and was closed in January2013. No CO exceedences were recorded at this station during the interval ofoperation.

Region Station:Performance Site CO NO2 O3 SO2 PM2.5 PM10

Monitoring locationStation categoryHobart

New Town Residential - - - - G&T G&TLauncestonTi Tree Bend Residential - - - - G&T G&TDevonport

TAFE Residential - - - - G&T G&T

Table 1: Tasmanian NEPM performance measuring stations. Notes: G = Se-lected as a ‘Generally Representative Upper Bound’ site; T = Trend station.

RegionLocation Height Distance Clear sky Clear 20 m No nearby Distance

Station category above to support angle of Airflow from boiler or to roadsground structure 120◦ 170/360◦ trees incinerator & traffic

HobartNew Town Residential X X X X X X X

Launceston LightTi Tree Bend Industry X X X X X X XDevonport

TAFE Residential X X X X X X X

Table 2: Summary of 2014 station site compliance with AS 3580.1.1–2007. A‘X’ symbol indicates compliance for the stated criterion.

– 2 AIR NEPM MONITORING SUMMARY


Figure 1: Air NEPM regions and gravimetric PM2.5 and PM10 air monitoringstations at Hobart (New Town), Launceston (Ti tree Bend), and Devonport(Valley Road TAFE) in Tasmania during 2014



2.1 Description of the exposed population

A qualitative description of the exposed population represented by each mon-itoring station is shown in the location category column in Tables 1 and 2. Amore detailed description of the exposed populations is given in Appendix B ofthis report.

2.2 Implementation of the monitoring plan

The Hobart Performance and Trend monitoring station was moved approxi-mately 2.5 km from the Prince of Wales Bay to New Town in May 2006. Thebackground and rationale for this move are detailed in Appendix B.

The Launceston Performance and Trend monitoring station at Ti Tree BendWaste Water plant was moved approximately 200 metres in December 2008 toavoid local dust contamination, as detailed in Appendix B.

The Devonport Performance and Trend monitoring station was establishedin the grounds of the Devonport TAFE (Polytechnic) college in June 2012.Regular monitoring of PM2.5 and PM10 particulates commenced in mid-January2013.

2.3 Monitoring methods

NEPM compliance air monitoring in Tasmania is conducted in accordance withthe relevant Australian standards shown in Table 3. Data not meeting therequirements of these standards, and the EPA Division’s NATA accredited,quality assurance procedures, are identified as invalid and not included in thisreport.

Particle concentrations in µg m−3 have been corrected for the ambient airdensity and refer to a volume of air at 0 C (273.15 K) and a pressure of onestandard atmosphere (101.325 kPa).

PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring is conducted using Low Volume air Sampler(LVAS) at all three listed stations. On days when the PM10 LVAS did not op-erate PM10 Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM) data are used,if available.

PM10 particle data measured by TEOM included in this report incorporatean empirical ambient temperature adjustment as described in Appendix C. Thisadjustment is identical to the approved procedure described in NEPM TechnicalPaper 104, except that low temperature cut–off for the application of the lineartemperature correction has been reduced from 5 C to 0 C, to reflect the lowerambient temperatures experienced in Tasmania. This adjustment means noTEOM measurement change on days with an average temperature at, or above15 C, increasing linearly to a 60% increase in TEOM measurements at a dailyaverage temperature of 0 C.

Note: Daily monitoring of PM10 by Low Volume air Sampler (LVAS) ceasedat both Hobart and Launceston in September 2012 due to resource realignment,but was restarted in quarter three of 2014 following a review of data fill–factorspost–September 2012.

4National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure Technical Pa-per No. 10, Collection and Reporting of TEOM PM10 Data, available fromhttp://www.scew.gov.au/resource/ephc-archive-ambient-air-quality-nepm



Pollutant Standard Title Method used

Particles – PM10 AS35890.9.8:2006 Ambient Air – PM10 continuous direct TEOMmass method using a tapered element

oscillating microbalance analyserParticles – PM10 AS35890.9.9:2006 Ambient Air – Determination of LVAS

suspended particulate matter - PM10

low volume air sampler (LVAS) –Gravimetric method

Particles – PM2.5 AS35890.7.1:2011 Ambient Air – Determination of LVASsuspended particulate matter - PM2.5

low volume air sampler (LVAS) –Gravimetric method

Table 3: Pollutant measurement methods used in Tasmania for Air NEPMmonitoring.

2.4 NATA status

The Tasmanian ambient air monitoring programme holds NATA Accredita-tion (NATA Certificate No. 16646, issued 7/4/2009) for the determination ofPM2.5 and PM10 using the Andersen RAAS samplers according to the methodsdescribed in AS3580.9.9:2008 and AS3580.9.10:2008. This accreditation wasextended in 2011 to cover the operation of the alternative US-EPA compliantR&P Partisol PlusTM low volume samplers.

Following an external NATA audit of the PM10 TEOM methodology in Au-gust 2010, this accreditation has been extended to cover the continuous gravi-metric determination of PM10 using the TEOM method according to AS3580.9.8:2008.

2.5 Screening for other pollutants

Monitoring for other listed Air NEPM pollutants is not performed at the Tas-manian NEPM stations of Launceston, Hobart and Devonport because workcarried out previously in Tasmania, and non-NEPM monitoring of SO2 andNO2 at George Town, have all indicated that the probable levels of Nitrogendioxide (NO2), Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) would be well below thecorresponding NEPM standards. Peak-site urban CO monitoring was conductedin 2011-2012 – no exceedences were recorded.

Details of past screening studies conducted in Tasmania are presented inthe Air NEPM Monitoring Plan for Tasmania, and are summarised in Table 4.Details of other non-NEPM monitoring activities are available in Appendix A.

2.6 PM2.5 monitoring

In 2003, the NEPM was varied to include advisory reporting standards forPM2.5 particles. Tasmania monitors daily PM2.5 concentrations according toAS/NZS 3580.9.10 at the Hobart and Launceston reference stations using US-EPA compliant Low Volume Air Samplers (LVAS) fitted with PM2.5 very sharp



Pollutant Hobart Launceston(Air NEPM standards)

Ozone Sampled 1994–1995, Sampled 1992–1993,(0.1 ppm, 1 hour) Max. 1 hour average = 0.03 ppm Max. 1 hour level = 0.04 ppm

Nitrogen Dioxide No data available. CSIRO - Ti Tree Bend (2007–2008)(0.12 ppm, 1hour); No significant sources Maximum 1-hr average = 0.04 ppm,(0.03 ppm, 1-year) Average (11 months) = 0.004 ppm

Carbon Monoxide Prince of Wales Bay (2000–2004) CSIRO - Ti Tree Bend (2008)(9.0 ppm, 8 hours) Max. 8 hour average = 2.3 ppm Max. 8 hour average = 2.7 ppm

95th percentile (8 hour) = 0.4 ppm Average (4 months) = 1.0 ppm

Sulphur Dioxide Technology Park (2001–2003) George Town (2007–2011)(0.2 ppm, 1 hour); Max. 1 hour average = 0.136 ppm Max. 1 hour average = 0.018 ppm(0.08 ppm, 1 day); Max. daily average = 0.025 ppm Max. daily average = 0.007 ppm(0.02 ppm, 1 year) Annual average = 0.002 ppm Annual average = 0.001 ppm

Lead Sampled 1989-1996 (intermittent) Sampled 1993-1998 (intermittent)(0.50 µg m−3 , annual av.) Annual average (1996) = 0.2 µg m−3 Annual average (1996) = 0.02 µg m−3

Table 4: Summary results of Tasmanian screening studies for criteria pollutantsother than PM2.5 and PM10 .

cut cyclones (VSCC). TEOM 1400 AB monitors fitted with PM2.5 VSCC wereinstalled at the Hobart and Launceston NEPM stations in 2010, and have beencollecting real–time gravimetric PM2.5 data since 1/1/2011. At Devonport LVASand TEOM instruments measuring both PM2.5 and PM10 have been operatedsince station establishment in 2013.

3 Assessment of compliance with Standards andGoals

Air quality is assessed against the Air NEPM standards and goal as shown inTable 5.

The number of allowable exceedences associated with the standards has beenset to account for unusual meteorological conditions and, in the case of particles,for natural events such as bushfires and dust storms that cannot be controlledthrough normal air quality management strategies.

Air quality data from each monitoring site is assessed against these standardsand the associated goal. No performance goal has been set for PM2.5 at this time.This is likely to be included in the variation to the Air NEPM currently nearingcompletion.

The following tables summarise compliance with the standards and goal ofthe Air NEPM. Air quality is assessed as complying with the Air NEPM if:

• The number of exceedences does not exceed the relevant allowances setfor the appropriate goal, and,

• Availability of valid data was at least 75% in each quarter of the year.

Regions also meet the standard if they do not require monitoring on the basisthat screening shows pollutant levels are expected to be consistently below therelevant standards.

– 3 ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS ANDGOALS


Pollutant Averaging Standard 2008 goalinterval (Note 1) Maximum allowable exceedences

Carbon Monoxide 8 hours 9.0 ppm 1 day a yearNitrogen Dioxide 1 hour 0.12 ppm 1 day a year

1 year 0.03 ppm NoneOzone 1 hour 0.2 ppm 1 day a year

4 hours 0.08 ppm 1 day a yearSulphur Dioxide 1 hour 0.2 ppm 1 day a year

1 day 0.08 ppm 1 day a year1 year 0.02 ppm None

Particles as PM10 1 day 50 µg m−3 5 days a yearLead 1 day 50 µg m−3 NoneParticles as PM2.5 1 day 25 µg m−3 Not applicable

1 year 8 µg m−3 Not applicable

Table 5: Air NEPM air quality standards and goal. Note 1: Standards areconcentrations, in parts per million (ppm), or micrograms per cubic metre(µg m−3 ), against which air quality can be assessed. Note 2: The goal ofthe Air NEPM is to achieve the National Environment Protection Standardswithin 10 years of commencement (1998) as assessed in accordance with themonitoring protocol to the extent specified in Schedule 2 of the Air NEPM.The extent is the maximum allowable number of exceedences for each standard(shown in column 4 of the table).

Compliance with the Air NEPM is assessed as ‘not demonstrated’ if insuffi-cient data have been collected to demonstrate that the goals have or have notbeen met or screening has not been completed.

3.1 Carbon monoxide

An air monitoring station to measure roadside CO levels in Macquarie Streetin the Hobart CBD was commissioned in February 2011, and closed in January2013. No exceedences were recorded of the 8 hour 9.0 ppm standard during thetwo years of monitoring. Peak CO concentrations measured during this periodwere well below the NEPM standard.

3.2 Nitrogen dioxide

Oxides of Nitrogen are not monitored by NEPM performance stations in Tas-mania. Past screening studies and current industry monitoring at George Townindicate ambient nitrogen dioxide levels are expected to be well below the rele-vant Air NEPM standard in both Hobart and Launceston.

3.3 Ozone

Ozone is not monitored in Tasmania. Screening studies indicate ambient ozonelevels are expected to be well below the relevant Air NEPM standard in bothHobart and Launceston. This is largely due to the relatively low concentrationof motor vehicles, and climatic conditions.



3.4 Sulphur Dioxide

Sulphur dioxide is not monitored by NEPM performance stations in Tasmania.Screening and industry monitoring at George Town and Hobart indicate ambientsulphur dioxide levels are expected to be well below the relevant Air NEPMstandard in both Hobart and Launceston.

3.5 Particles as PM10

Table 6 provides summary information assessing compliance with the Air NEPMgoal for Tasmania for PM10 in 2014 for Hobart and Devonport. Compliance isnot demonstrated for Launceston due to less than 75% data–availability forquarter 1.

Region Data Availability Rates Number of Annual Performance againstExceedences mean standards and goals

Station Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Annual Days µg m−3

HobartAll 97 99 100 100 99 0 N/Applic. MetLVAS 0 0 13 99 28TEOM 97 99 100 99 99LauncestonAll 42 98 97 99 84 0 N/Applic. Not demonstratedLVAS 0 0 80 92 44TEOM 42 98 95 95 82DevonportAll 98 95 98 100 98 0 N/Applic. MetLVAS 16 0 18 99 33TEOM 96 95 98 99 97

Table 6: Compliance summary for 24–hour PM10 in Tasmania for the 2014calendar year. Air NEPM standard PM10 : 50 µg m−3 (24–hour average). AirNEPM goal for 2008 and onward: Standard exceeded for no more than 5 daysper year. Note: In 2014 there was no annual standard for PM10 .

3.6 Particles as PM2.5

The Air NEPM was varied in 2003 to include advisory reporting standards forparticles as PM2.5 . There is no time frame for compliance, but monitoring bythe reference method and other acceptable methods is required to be reported.

Table 7 summarises Tasmania’s monitoring of PM2.5 by the reference gravi-metric method. The goal is to gather sufficient data nationally to facilitate areview of the reporting standards as part of the review of the NEPM that com-menced in 2005. This review is completed and the variation to the Air NEPMis in the final stages of preparation.

3.7 Lead

With the phasing out of leaded petrol, the concentrations of airborne lead mea-sured in Hobart and Launceston fell well below the Air NEPM standard, and



the monitoring of airborne lead was discontinued in 1998.

4 Analysis of Air Quality Monitoring

The annual summary statistics for Tasmania are presented in Tables 8 and 12.The Air NEPM states that short term standards should not be exceeded on

more than one day each year for carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone andsulphur dioxide, or on more than five days per year for PM10 .

All occasions when a standard was exceeded are listed in the following ta-bles, together with the circumstances leading to the exceedence. Concentrationsexceeding the standard are highlighted in bold.

Tables of monitoring statistics presented in this section have been preparedaccording to Air NEPM guidelines.

4.1 Carbon monoxide

Roadside CO was monitored in Macquarie Street in the Hobart CBD was dis-continued in January 2013.


Not monitored at the NEPM reference stations in Hobart, Launceston and De-vonport.

4.3 Ozone


4.4 Sulphur Dioxide



PM10 was monitored each day at the Hobart, Launceston and Devonport sta-tions by LVAS and TEOM. The reported PM10 concentrations are preferentiallyfrom the LVAS reference method. On days when these data were not available,the 24-hour average PM10 has been determined from the temperature adjustedPM10 TEOM measurements using the Tasmanian empirical correction factor,derived according to the methods presented in Technical Guidance Paper 10.

The 2014 summary statistics for Tasmania for PM10 are given in Table 8.There were no exceedences of the 24–hour PM10 standard at any of the

three Tasmanian NEPM station in 2014.

– 4 ANALYSIS OF AIR QUALITY MONITORING



Daily monitoring of PM2.5 was conducted at the Hobart, Launceston and De-vonport stations by low volume air samplers (LVAS).

The 2014 summary statistics for Tasmania for PM2.5 are given in Table 12.There was one exceedence of the 24–hour advisory reporting standard for

PM2.5 at Hobart and eleven at Launceston in 2014. All of these were as-cribed to winter–time woodsmoke. There were no exceedences of the 24–hourPM2.5 advisory standard at Devonport in 2014.

4.7 Summary of progress towards achieving the Air NEPMgoal

4.7.1 Compliance in 2014

Sufficient data were captured at the Hobart New Town and Devonport TAFEmonitoring stations during 2014 to demonstrate compliance of the air qualityin Hobart and Devonport with the Air NEPM goal for PM10 . Due to equip-ment failures, insufficient first quarter data were captured at the Ti Tree Bendmonitoring station and so compliance for PM10 could not be demonstrated forLaunceston.

There were no exceedences of the 24–hour Air NEPM standard for PM10 atHobart in 2014. There was one exceedence of the 24–hour Air NEPM reportingstandard for PM2.5 at Hobart, on 25 July 2014, due to winter woodsmoke. Theannual average PM2.5 at Hobart was 6.7 µg m−3 , which is below the Air NEPMadvisory annual–average PM2.5 standard of 8 µg m−3 .

There were no exceedences of the 24–hour Air NEPM standard for PM10 atLaunceston in 2014. There were eleven exceedences of the 24–hour Air NEPMreporting standard for PM2.5 at Launceston in 2014. All occurred in the monthsof May, June and July, and are ascribed to be due to winter woodsmoke. Theannual average PM2.5 at Launceston was 8.7 µg m−3 , which is above the AirNEPM advisory annual–average PM2.5 standard of 8 µg m−3 . Launceston con-tinues to experience higher levels of winter smoke pollution than Hobart.

There were no exceedences of the 24–hour Air NEPM standard for PM10 atDevonport in 2014. There were no exceedence of the 24–hour Air NEPM re-porting standard for PM2.5 at Devonport. The annual average PM2.5 at Devon-port was 6.8 µg m−3 , which is below the Air NEPM advisory annual–averagePM2.5 standard of 8 µg m−3 .

4.7.2 Notes on trends in compliance

• Hobart: PM10 data from the Prince of Wales station (2000–2006) andNew Town station (2006 onwards) shows that Hobart has met the AirNEPM goal in every year of complete monitoring5. Hobart has recordedannually between zero and nine exceedences of the Air NEPM 24–hourPM2.5 reporting standard from 2000 onwards. This is discussed in moredetail in a later section.

5In one quarter of 2013, data–capture of less than 75% meant that for that year compliancewith the goal was not demonstrated



• Launceston: Launceston continues to meet the Air NEPM goal of fewerthan 5 annual exceedences of the 24–hour PM10 standard. This is a signif-icant change from when daily PM10 measurement began in the late 1990s,when up to 50 exceedences were recorded each year. However, Launce-ston typically records around 10 exceedences of the Air NEPM 24–houradvisory reporting standard for PM2.5 , as well as often exceeding theannual reporting standard for PM2.5 . The exceedences are, in general,largely due to winter–time woodsmoke. The planned variation to the AirNEPM is likely to make the PM2.5 reporting standards into full compliancestandards, meaning that improvement in Launceston’s air quality will beneeded to meet the new standards.

• Devonport: Devonport has met the Air NEPM PM10 goal in both yearsof data collection (2012, 2013) to date. There have been no recordedexceedences of the 24–hour reporting standard for PM2.5 in either year.The annual average PM2.5 has also been below the PM2.5 annual standardin both years.



Region Data Availability Rates Number of Annual Performance againstExceedences mean standards and goals

Station Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Annual Days µg m−3

HobartLVAS 56 98 97 95 86 1 6.7 N/Applic.TEOM 87 76 96 100 90LauncestonLVAS 82 99 88 93 91 11 8.7 N/Applic.TEOM 82 96 66 76 80DevonportLVAS 80 99 98 75 88 0 6.8 N/Applic.TEOM 37 0 21 83 35

Table 7: Compliance summary for 24–hour PM2.5 in Tasmania for the 2014calendar year. Air NEPM advisory reporting standards PM2.5 : 25 µg m−3 (24–hour average); 8 µg m−3 (calendar year annual average). Note: PM2.5 standardsare advisory standards only.

Region Number of Highest concentration 6th highest concentrationvalid days

Station of data µg m−3 Date µg m−3 Date

HobartNew Town 361 35.4 28/01/2014 26.1 14/01/2014LauncestonTi Tree Bend 307 40.8 23/07/2014 34.4 14/07/2014DevonportDevonport 356 44.7 08/02/2014 29.9 27/06/2014

Table 8: Summary statistics for 24–hour PM10 in Tasmania for 2014. Air NEPMstandard PM10 : 50 µg m−3 (24–hour average). Air NEPM goal for 2008: Stan-dard exceeded for no more than 5 days per year.

Hobart PM10 2014Date PM10 PM2.5 Amb. T (C) Inferred causeNil - - - -

Table 9: Exceedence table for PM10 at Hobart for the 2014 calendar year.

Launceston PM10 2014Date PM10 PM2.5 Amb. T (C) Inferred causeNil - - - -

Table 10: Exceedence table for PM10 at Launceston for the 2014 calendar year.

Devonport TAFE PM10 2014Date PM10 PM2.5 Amb. T (C) Inferred causeNil - - - -

Table 11: Exceedence table for PM10 at Devonport TAFE for the 2014 calendaryear.



Region Number of Highest concentration 6th highest concentrationvalid days

Station of data µg m−3 Date µg m−3 Date

HobartNew Town 315 27.6 25/07/2014 18.7 17/08/2014LauncestonTi Tree Bend 331 49.5 01/07/2014 28.3 21/07/2014DevonportDevonport 321 22.3 08/02/2014 14.7 05/06/2014

Table 12: Summary statistics for 24–hour PM2.5 in Tasmania for 2014. AirNEPM advisory standard PM2.5 : 25 µg m−3 (24–hour average).

Hobart PM2.5 2014Date PM2.5 PM10 Amb. T (C) Inferred cause

25/07/2014 27.6 33.1 7.2 residential woodsmoke

Table 13: Exceedence table for PM2.5 at Hobart for the 2014 calendar year.

Launceston PM2.5 2014Date PM2.5 PM10 Amb. T (C) Inferred cause

01/07/2014 49.5 N/A 2.9 Residential woodsmoke23/07/2014 32.7 40.8 4.4 Residential woodsmoke22/06/2014 32.7 30.9 7.2 Residential woodsmoke25/07/2014 30.1 37.9 7.6 Residential woodsmoke16/06/2014 29.8 38.5 4.5 Residential woodsmoke21/07/2014 28.3 35.1 2.9 Residential woodsmoke22/07/2014 28.1 33.9 4.2 Residential woodsmoke25/05/2014 27.3 30.1 7.9 Residential woodsmoke10/06/2014 26.1 31.5 8.3 Residential woodsmoke18/06/2014 25.7 29.8 7.9 Residential woodsmoke17/06/2014 25.4 29.5 6.4 Residential woodsmoke

Table 14: Exceedence table for PM2.5 at Launceston for the 2014 calendar year.

Devonport TAFE PM2.5 2014Date PM2.5 PM10 Amb. T (C) Inferred causeNil - - - -

Table 15: Exceedence table for PM2.5 at Devonport TAFE for the 2014 calendaryear.



5 Trends and pollution distributions

Results of further analysis are presented in this section. The following tablespresent:

• Percentiles of 2014 daily peak concentrations are presented for each stationand standard.

• Daily values are only reported for days with more than 75% samplingtime.

• Exceedences are shown in bold type.

• Data for stations with less than 75% annual data are shown in italics.

• Data for years with less than 25% valid data (91 days) have not beenreported.

5.1 Carbon Monoxide

No data collected at NEPM stations in Tasmania.



5.3 Ozone


5.4 Sulphur Dioxide



Table 16 provides summary statistics for the PM10 monitoring conducted inHobart, Launceston and Devonport for 2014. Historical summaries are alsoprovided for Hobart in Table 17, Launceston in Table 18, and Devonport inTable 19.

Region and Available Max. Percentiles (µg m−3 )Performance data

Station % (µg m−3 ) 99th 98th 95th 90th 70th 50th 25th

HobartNew Town 98.9 35.4 28.3 25.5 22.4 19.9 16.1 12.6 9.2

LauncestonTi Tree Bend 84.1 40.8 38.2 34.1 29.3 24.6 18.7 13.7 9.9

Devonport TAFEDevonport 97.5 44.7 32.8 27.8 24.2 21.2 17.9 14.1 10.6

Table 16: Summary and percentiles of 24–hour PM10 for Hobart, Launceston,and Devonport in 2014.

– 5 TRENDS AND POLLUTION DISTRIBUTIONS


Year Available No. of Max. Percentiles (µg m−3 )data exceedences

% (days) (µg m−3 ) 99th 98th 95th 90th 70th 50th 25th

2006 69.3 0 46.7 39.1 35.8 31.7 27.5 20.2 13.5 9.1

2007 99.7 0 43.8 39.2 35.6 30.3 25.4 18.4 13.7 9.5

2008 100.0 0 48.7 38.7 35.5 29.2 25.3 18.5 12.9 8.6

2009 99.5 0 43.2 36.0 33.2 25.9 23.2 17.3 11.4 8.5

2010 99.2 1 50.5 30.5 29.3 25.4 22.2 17.1 12.0 7.9

2011 99.7 0 40.3 29.9 27.4 23.6 19.0 15.0 10.5 7.5

2012 100.0 0 42.8 29.0 26.3 22.5 20.0 15.6 11.2 7.9

2013 81.6 1 64.0 34.2 27.9 24.0 20.1 15.4 12.1 9.5

2014 98.9 0 35.4 28.3 25.5 22.4 19.9 16.1 12.6 9.2

Table 17: Percentiles of 24–hour PM10 at Hobart, New Town (2006 - 2014)



1992 20.8 27 187.2 179.3 156.7 134.3 109.9 78.9 39.9 21.8

1993 21.4 25 141.2 133.2 112.0 97.0 87.2 56.6 37.3 27.1

1994 9.6 7 120.7 120.7 116.0 94.1 84.5 40.5 17.5 12.4

1995 15.6 15 104.2 103.7 99.3 94.7 79.4 52.6 14.3 7.4

1996 12.8 9 74.5 74.5 73.6 68.7 58.1 44.4 12.4 5.2

1997 46.8 50 122.8 110.3 98.9 84.0 73.9 53.8 23.0 11.8

1998 51.0 48 125.4 121.0 110.4 88.4 74.9 50.8 24.0 11.6

1999 51.8 45 94.4 86.1 82.8 76.8 66.0 48.4 24.8 11.6

2000 53.0 39 111.0 88.7 86.3 75.6 71.0 42.1 23.5 10.3

2001 65.5 28 80.9 74.2 70.5 57.1 51.2 34.9 15.6 7.5

2002 91.0 13 76.4 67.0 59.1 47.3 38.1 24.3 13.6 7.3

2003 85.5 26 91.5 73.6 69.6 55.7 42.8 26.4 14.9 8.3

2004 92.3 10 86.1 64.0 53.5 44.1 37.5 21.7 12.4 7.4

2005 99.2 13 79.6 70.0 59.6 44.0 37.8 23.4 13.8 9.5

2006 97.3 5 86.3 53.4 46.9 40.0 35.2 23.6 15.2 10.9

2007 96.4 5 76.3 56.4 51.7 40.0 31.0 21.6 14.8 11.1

2008 97.5 1 75.7 47.6 42.1 38.8 30.4 22.4 14.8 10.0

2009 100.0 0 44.1 42.1 36.5 29.6 22.1 16.3 12.2 8.4

2010 100.0 0 49.5 37.8 35.7 31.1 26.6 19.8 13.1 9.2

2011 97.8 0 39.4 35.3 32.8 26.7 22.0 15.5 11.4 8.6

2012 94.5 1 54.3 42.5 37.5 31.2 25.0 17.7 13.0 9.1

2013 30.4 0 30.7 30.4 30.0 24.0 20.0 17.1 13.9 11.2

2014 84.1 0 40.8 38.2 34.1 29.3 24.6 18.7 13.7 9.9

Table 18: Percentiles of 24–hour PM10 at Launceston, Ti Tree Bend (1992 -2014)



2013 93.4 0 38.4 29.9 27.9 25.2 21.8 17.7 12.6 8.9

2014 97.5 0 44.7 32.8 27.8 24.2 21.2 17.9 14.1 10.6

Table 19: Percentiles of 24–hour PM10 at Devonport TAFE, Devonport (2013 -2014)




Table 20 provides summary statistics for the PM2.5 monitoring conducted atHobart, Launceston and Devonport for 2014. Historical summaries are alsoprovided for Hobart in Table 21, Launceston in Table 22, and Devonport inTable 23.

Region and Available Max. Percentiles (µg m−3 )Performance data

Station % (µg m−3 ) 99th 98th 95th 90th 70th 50th 25th

HobartNew Town 86.3 27.6 21.9 18.5 16.1 14.0 8.4 5.1 3.7

LauncestonTi Tree Bend 90.7 49.5 30.6 28.0 22.7 17.5 10.3 6.6 4.3

Devonport TAFEDevonport 87.9 22.3 17.4 14.4 12.8 11.4 8.9 6.2 4.4

Table 20: Summary and percentiles of 24–hour PM2.5 for Hobart, Launceston,and Devonport in 2014.



2006 54.8 2 29.4 26.1 22.9 21.3 15.9 9.5 4.8 3.1

2007 86.6 7 31.5 27.5 25.2 21.1 16.6 9.3 5.4 3.4

2008 91.5 9 42.0 32.7 28.2 21.2 16.3 8.9 4.8 3.2

2009 87.4 4 28.4 26.1 23.9 18.8 15.1 8.1 5.5 3.7

2010 96.2 2 35.6 23.0 21.3 18.0 15.1 8.9 5.2 3.4

2011 94.8 0 24.9 20.9 19.8 14.8 12.4 7.4 4.9 3.4

2012 97.3 3 37.5 22.4 19.7 16.8 12.8 7.9 5.0 3.3

2013 86.8 3 48.7 25.7 22.4 17.0 13.1 6.8 4.3 3.1

2014 86.3 1 27.6 21.9 18.5 16.1 14.0 8.4 5.1 3.7

Table 21: Percentiles of 24–hour PM2.5 at Hobart, New Town (2006 - 2014)





2005 21.6 3 51.1 49.7 45.1 18.2 9.0 6.4 5.1 4.0

2006 92.1 35 43.6 39.2 34.4 30.5 26.2 13.5 6.3 4.2

2007 86.8 20 53.6 38.6 34.9 26.3 20.6 11.5 6.4 4.4

2008 86.1 17 41.6 34.0 30.1 25.3 20.2 12.0 5.8 3.3

2009 83.8 12 36.3 32.5 29.6 22.0 14.8 8.9 5.4 3.6

2010 83.3 11 40.9 28.4 27.1 23.4 18.7 9.9 6.0 4.0

2011 86.8 6 30.4 27.2 24.9 20.2 16.0 9.2 5.4 3.8

2012 94.5 16 43.9 34.2 30.4 24.6 19.1 10.6 5.5 3.5

2013 72.6 12 47.4 38.3 31.8 23.8 18.5 10.7 5.0 3.3

2014 90.7 11 49.5 30.6 28.0 22.7 17.5 10.3 6.6 4.3

Table 22: Percentiles of 24–hour PM2.5 at Launceston, Ti Tree Bend (2005 -2014)



2013 84.7 0 19.1 17.2 15.5 14.1 11.4 8.2 5.5 3.8

2014 87.9 0 22.3 17.4 14.4 12.8 11.4 8.9 6.2 4.4

Table 23: Percentiles of 24–hour PM2.5 at Devonport TAFE, Devonport (2013- 2014)



6 Discussion

6.1 Particle levels in 2014

Many Tasmanian towns and cities experience their poorest air quality during thecooler autumn and winter months, as a result of smoke pollution from burningfire wood for domestic and industrial heating, as well as vegetation burning forforestry operations, fire hazard–reduction and agriculture.

0

20

40

60

80

100

01 Jan 2014

01 Mar 2014

01 May 2014

01 Jul 2014

01 Sep 2014

01 Nov 2014

31 Dec 2014

PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily particulate levels for New Town - Hobart, 2014

PM10 PM2.5

Figure 2: Daily average PM10 and PM2.5 measured at New Town in 2014

While the effects of wood smoke can be observed as short-duration eleva-tions in the PM2.5 particulate concentrations measured in Hobart (Figure 2,Launceston (Figure 3) and Devonport (Figure 4) on cold days, the contribu-tion of fine particulates to winter air pollution is clearly demonstrated in theannual particulate profiles for Hobart and Launceston (Figures 5 and 6). Thesedata indicate the PM2.5 fraction represented up to approximately 80% of thePM10 particulates in Launceston for the high pollution months of May to Au-gust, compared to around 55% between September and April. The rise in thecoarse particulate fraction (PM10 −PM2.5 ) concentration in summer is probablydue to wind–blown dust in dry weather, and an increase in sea–salt aerosol load-ing. Increases in PM10 without an accompanying rise in PM2.5 are very unlikelyto arise from woodsmoke, but are ascribed to circumstances such as increasedsea-salt aerosol concentrations and local dust on warm windy days.

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 Jan 2014

01 Mar 2014

01 May 2014

01 Jul 2014

01 Sep 2014

01 Nov 2014

31 Dec 2014

PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily particulate levels for Ti Tree Bend - Launceston, 2014

PM10 PM2.5

Figure 3: Daily average PM10 and PM2.5 measured at Ti Tree Bend in 2014

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 Jan 2014

01 Mar 2014

01 May 2014

01 Jul 2014

01 Sep 2014

01 Nov 2014

31 Dec 2014

PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily particulate levels for Devonport - Devonport TAFE, 2014

PM10 PM2.5

Figure 4: Daily average PM10 and PM2.5 measured at Devonport in 2014

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Annual particulate profile for New Town - Hobart, 2009 - 2014

PM10 PM2.5 (PM10-PM2.5)

Figure 5: Annual particulate profile, by monthly average, for Hobart (2009–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

5

10

15

20

25

30


PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Annual particulate profile for Ti Tree Bend - Launceston, 2009 - 2014

PM10 PM2.5 (PM10-PM2.5)

Figure 6: Annual particulate profile, by monthly average, for Launceston (2009–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

5

10

15

20

25

30


PM

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Annual particulate profile for Devonport - Devonport TAFE, 2009 - 2014

PM10 PM2.5 (PM10-PM2.5)

Figure 7: Annual particulate profile, by monthly average, for Devonport (2013–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


6.2 Historical overview

Launceston continues to experience significantly higher levels of winter PM2.5 po-llution than Hobart. Launceston’s particle levels have in general decreased overthe past 20 years. This reduction in winter smoke pollution in Launceston isillustrated in Figure 8 . The frequency of PM10 exceedences has declined from50 days per annum in 1997, to only a single event in 2008 (caused by bush-fire smoke), none in 2009, 2010 and 2011, one in 2012 and none recorded in2013 or 2014. The decrease over the last two decades in the annual number ofPM10 exceedences per year, recorded at Ti Tree Bend in Launceston, has beensignificant.

0

50

100

150

200

01 Jan1995

01 Jan2000

31 Dec2004

31 Dec2009

PM10 c

once

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM10 levels for Ti Tree Bend - Launceston

Figure 8: The daily–averaged PM10 measured in Launceston (1992–2014)

Figures 15 and 16 below show the number of days each year, for both Hobartand Launceston respectively, where the 24-hour average PM2.5 concentration ex-ceeded 25 µg m−3 . This has been colour coded to display the season of the yearin which the exceedences occurred. At this stage, several more years’ worth ofdata are required before the presence of trends can be investigated. In overview,summer–time exceedences are due to bushfires, autumn and spring exceedencescan be due to planned burning activities, and winter–time exceedences arisefrom woodheater smoke. Some late autumn and early spring exceedences canalso arise from woodheater smoke.

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

31 Dec2005

01 Jan2008

31 Dec2009

01 Jan2012

31 Dec2013

PM2.5

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM2.5 levels for Ti Tree Bend - Launceston

Figure 9: The daily–averaged PM2.5 measured in Launceston (2006–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 Jan2008

31 Dec2009

01 Jan2012

31 Dec2013

PM10 c

once

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM10 levels for New Town - Hobart

Figure 10: The daily–averaged PM10 measured in Hobart (2006–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

01 Jan2008

31 Dec2009

01 Jan2012

31 Dec2013

PM2.5

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM2.5 levels for New Town - Hobart

Figure 11: The daily–averaged PM2.5 measured in Hobart (2006–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

27 May2013

20 Oct2013

15 Mar2014

08 Aug2014

PM10 c

once

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM10 levels for Devonport - Devonport TAFE

Figure 12: The daily–averaged PM10 measured in Devonport (2013–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

27 May2013

20 Oct2013

15 Mar2014

08 Aug2014

PM2.5

conce

ntr

ati

on (

µg

m-3

)

Daily PM2.5 levels for Devonport - Devonport TAFE

Figure 13: The daily–averaged PM2.5 measured in Devonport (2013–2014)

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

No. of days with daily PM10 exceeding 50

µg m-3

Year

PM10 exceedences - Ti Tree Bend

Figure 14: The number of days each year where the 24–hour averagePM10 concentration measured at Ti Tree Bend (Launceston) exceeded the na-tional standard of 50 µg m−3 , since daily winter monitoring began in 1997.

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Number of calendar days with PM2.5 exceeding 25

µg m-3

Year

PM2.5 exceedences by season - New Town, Hobart

SpringWinter

AutumnSummer

Figure 15: The number of days each year by season where the 24–hour averagePM2.5 concentration measured at New Town (Hobart) exceeded the nationaladvisory standard of 25 µg m−3 .

– 6 DISCUSSION


0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Number of calendar days with PM2.5 exceeding 25

µg m-3

Year

PM2.5 exceedences by season - Ti Tree Bend, Launceston

SpringWinter

AutumnSummer

Figure 16: The number of days each year by season where the 24–hour aver-age PM2.5 concentration measured at Ti Tree Bend (Launceston) exceeded thenational advisory standard of 25 µg m−3 .

– 6 DISCUSSION


A Non–NEPM monitoring in Tasmania

A.1 George Town Air Monitoring station

The George Town Air Monitoring Station (GAMS), which was established inJuly 2007 in partnership with the local heavy industries, has been monitoringPM10 , PM2.5 and levels of SO2 and NOx using Low Volume Air Samplers andgas analysers respectively. In late 2012 the EPA Division significantly reducedits resource contribution to the operation of GAMS.

A.2 BLANkET network

In 2009 the Environment Division of the Department of Environment, Parks,Heritage and the Arts (DEPHA), now the EPA Division of DPIPWE, com-menced the establishment of a regional network of air monitoring stations to de-termine the effects of forestry and agricultural burning, domestic wood-heating,and other smoke-generating activities on air pollution levels over a representa-tive sample of the state.

This network, the Base-Line Air Network of EPA Tasmania (BLANkET), atmid-2014 consisted of 29 stations equipped with optical particle (DRX dustrak)and meteorological instruments. The locations of the Tasmanian BLANkETstations, are shown in Figure 17. Real–time indicative PM10, PM2.5, and me-teorological data from each station in the BLANkET network are available onthe EPA Division’s website at http://epa.tas.gov.au/epa/real-time-air-quality-data-for-tasmania.

In autumn 2014 a temporary, solar–powered, BLANkET station was de-ployed for several months at Penguin on the northwest coast for the plannedburn season. This station was relocated to Ulverstone residential area in earlyJune 2014, and then was deployed at Poatina, central north, in November2014. At Ulverstone, there were 6 calendar days where the recorded day–averaged PM2.5 was above the Air NEPM 24–hour PM2.5 reporting standard.The mean PM2.5 at Ulverstone in the interval 4th June to 31st August 2014 was13.3 µg m−3 . This is comparable to the mean PM2.5 measured at Launceston(Ti Tree Bend) in the same interval.

The BLANkET stations are located near communities that can be and havebeen affected by smoke from planned burn operations, and provide air qualitymonitoring over a large proportion of Tasmania. These stations have signif-icantly improved knowledge of smoke transport over Tasmania, and providevaluable insights into winter wood smoke levels (from domestic heating) in sev-eral of the smaller Tasmanian communities. Details of the instrumentation andresults of analysis of the network data are presented in reports available athttp://epa.tas.gov.au/epa/blanket-reports.

The increased level of monitoring provided by BLANkET has shown thatpoor winter-time air quality occurs in many Tasmanian towns and communities.Table 24 below shows the number of days with day-averaged PM2.5 above the 24–hour NEPM advisory standard for selected BLANkET stations for the wintersof 2013 to 2014. A number of stations are recording significantly poorer airquality than measured at Launceston or Hobart. It is also noted that not allTasmanian towns have been sampled to date.

– A NON–NEPM MONITORING IN TASMANIA


Figure 17: Image from the EPA website showing the real–time PM10 andPM2.5 data from the BLANkET network, mid 2014.



Station name 2013 2014No. Mean No. Mean

(days) (µg m−3 ) (days) (µg m−3 )Campbell Town 0 8.6 2 10.5Derby 0 5.8 0 5.3Devonport 0 N/A 0 8.6Emu River [Burnie] 0 2.1 0 2.0Exeter 0 4.2 0 4.6Fingal 0 3.0 1 7.1George Town 0 5.9 0 5.3Gretna 0 4.8 0 4.4Geeveston 42 19.7 31 19.0Hadspen 42 18.6 49 21.5Hobart 2 8.3 2 10.4Huonville 5 10.2 4 12.0Judbury 0 2.2 0 2.4Lilydale 0 7.0 0 7.9Longford 45 21.0 56 25.8Mornington 0 2.5 0 5.6New Norfolk 50 23.2 53 22.4Perth 27 16.6 49 22.2Scottsdale 0 2.3 0 1.9Sheffield 2 6.4 2 6.4St Helens 0 1.8 0 1.9South Launceston 6 10.6 19 14.1Smithton 0 5.9 0 5.7Launceston 14 13.1 15 14.1Westbury 10 13.1 21 17.4West Ulverstone 0 4.2 0 4.8

Table 24: Summary data for winter (May–August) for Tasmanian BLANkETstations, giving for the stated year, the number of calendar days with day–averaged PM2.5 above the NEPM reporting standard of 25 µg m−3 , and themean PM2.5 (in µg m−3 ) for winter. The Devonport, Hobart and Launcestondata given here are from BLANkET instruments at these sites.



B Monitoring regions

B.1 Hobart

B.1.1 Region Boundaries

The extent to which pollutants emitted in a given area can impact on air qualityelsewhere depends on a number of factors, including topography, meteorologyand the chemical and physical properties of the pollutants. The term ‘airshed’is commonly used to refer to an area that is defined by natural or topographicfeatures affecting air quality.

In the case of a secondary pollutant (i.e. one that is formed by chemicalreactions in the atmosphere, rather than being directly emitted, e.g. O3), theairshed may extend relatively large distances from the city centre. However, fora pollutant such as PM10 in winter, the extent of influence may be more localisedand perhaps confined to areas sharing common nocturnal-drainage airflows.

For the purpose of the Measure, the Hobart Region boundaries may be takento be defined by the south-west corner (Easting 500,000; Northing 521,000) andthe north-east corner (Easting 550,000; Northing 5290,000) using AustralianMap Grid (AMG) co-ordinates.

B.1.2 Population and Topography

The population density and topography for the Hobart Region are presentedin Figure 18. The city of Hobart is located on the narrow coastal plain ofthe Derwent valley, flanked by a complex terrain of hills and mountain ranges.The majority of the region’s population of 216980 (ABS, 2011) reside withina 10 kilometre radius of the Central Business District (CBD) as illustrated inFigure 18, with significant satellite urban centres at Kingston-Blackmans Bayto the south (pop 35,000), and both Bridgewater-Gagebrook (pop. 15700) andNew Norfolk (pop. 6800) to the north.

B.1.3 Meteorology

The prevailing wind direction across Tasmania is northwest, strongly modifiedby the complex mountainous terrain surrounding the Derwent Valley. The cityexperiences unstable frontal conditions in late winter through early summer(July–December) and stable anti-cyclonic conditions for the remainder (Jan-June). During these latter periods, the wind flows are dominated by the kata-batic drainage winds flowing down the Derwent Valley during the night andearly mornings, and a south-easterly sea breeze on warm afternoons. In clear,calm autumn and winter weather, relatively high levels of locally generated airpollution can be trapped in hollows and basins.

B.1.4 Hobart: New Town Performance and Trend station

The Performance and Trend air monitoring station for Hobart was establishedin June 2000 at the Prince of Wales Bay sports field, approximately 6 km WNWof the Hobart CBD in the northern suburb of Glenorchy. In May 2006, followingthe review of the Tasmanian Air Monitoring Plan in 2005, a new Performance

– B MONITORING REGIONS


Figure 18: Map of the Hobart Region, showing the Population Density, Topog-raphy and the location of the New Town NEPM Air Monitoring Station. (ThePrince of Wales Bay Air Station was closed in mid-2006 when the New Townstation commenced operation.



and Trend air monitoring station was established 2.5 km closer to the CBD ata more representative site in New Town in May 2006 (Figure 18).

The primary Hobart Performance and Trend Monitoring Station in NewTown is on land leased by the Hockey Association of Tasmania, some 2.5 kmSSE of the original Prince of Wales station. The new station incorporates aPM10 TEOM, plus an Andersen RAAS low volume sampler for PM2.5 , as wellas one 8520 DustTrakTM and two 8533 DRX DustTrakTM particle counters forcontinuous indicative monitoring of particle concentrations. The choice of thissite was supported by TAPM modelling of the greater Hobart airshed, whichpredicts elevated smoke concentrations in the areas illustrated in Figure 19.

The following instruments operated at the New Town station in 2014:

• PM10 via a Andersen RAASTM low volume air sampler (LVAS) with aSize Selective Inlet (SSI), according to AS 3580.9.9 :2006.

• PM2.5 measured by second Andersen RAASTM low volume air sampler(LVAS), with a SSI and Very Sharp Cut Cyclone (VSCC) according to AS3580.9.10-2006, sampled every day.

• PM10 by a TEOM instrument with and SSI.

• PM2.5 via a second TEOM with an SSI and VSCC.

• Two DRX DustTrak instruments for indicative real–time PM10 and PM2.5 .



Figure 19: Results of preliminary modelling of maximum 24 hour averagePM10 concentrations in the Hobart region, showing indicative ‘hot–spots’ (inred) for particles. The black square and diamond symbols respectively repre-sent the locations of the current New Town and former Prince of Wales Bay airmonitoring station.



B.2 Launceston


Launceston and the Tamar Valley as a whole have been well studied in terms ofthe meteorology and atmospheric dispersion of the region. Results of three-dimensional atmospheric dispersion modelling in the Tamar Valley AirshedStudy (DELM, 1995), have indicated that emissions from heavy industry atBell Bay, some 40 kilometres north-west of Launceston, may occasionally havean influence on air quality in Launceston under unfavourable weather conditions.

For the purpose of the Measure, the Launceston Region boundaries are de-fined as presented in Figure 20 and cover an area approximately 40 kilometreswide and 60 kilometres long. This area has been selected for consistency withthe Tamar Valley Airshed Study (DELM, 1995). Although there is no functionalpurpose served in exactly defining the boundary AMG co-ordinates, these maybe taken to be defined by the south-most corner (Easting 501,250; Northing5,389,750) and the north-most corner (Easting 498,750; Northing 5,467,250).


The population density and topography of the Launceston Region is presentedin Figure 20.

The total population of the Launceston Region as defined in the Air Monitor-ing Plan for Tasmania, and illustrated in Figure 20, is approximately 106,153(ABS, 2011). The city of Launceston is located on the upper reaches of theTamar River, in a well-defined valley that extends some 50 kilometres northto Bass Strait. The valley axis is mostly aligned in a north-west to south-eastorientation and is flanked by hills that reach elevations of up to 400 m.

Most of Launceston’s urban population of 64,000 is located within approx-imately five kilometres of the city centre, with the highest densities locatedsouth-east of the city centre, and significant densities on the banks of the TamarRiver to the north and north-west of the city. George Town, near the mouth ofthe Tamar river, is the second largest urban centre in the region with a popula-tion of 6,700. While the population of George Town is below the threshold forthe installation of an ambient air monitoring station under the Air NEPM, anindustry-government funded air monitoring station has been operating on thesouthern edge of George Town since July 2007.

The PM2.5 and PM10 levels in the Launceston region are also monitored byBLANkET stations (using optical particle counters) at an urban site at SouthLaunceston, at Exeter in the middle Tamar, and on the outskirts of Lilydale(north-east of Launceston) and at Hadspen, Longford and Perth (to the southof Launceston). The data from these non–NEPM stations are only briefly notedin this report.

B.2.3 Meteorology

The prevailing winds tend to be northwesterly all year round in Launceston,with atmospheric calm conditions reported to be most frequent in the autumnand winter months (Power, 2000).

Available data for the Launceston region clearly indicate that high concen-trations of particles are frequently associated with light winds and highly stable



Figure 20: Map of Launceston Region showing the population density, topog-raphy and the location of Air Monitoring Stations, including the Air NEPMmonitoring station at Ti Tree Bend.



atmospheric conditions. Moreover, because of night-time ground radiative cool-ing and the formation of drainage flows, relatively high pollutant concentrationsare likely to be found in topographic hollows and basins, and on low-lying land.

B.2.4 Launceston: Ti Tree Bend Performance and Trend station

Seasonal PM10 measurements using a High Volume Air Sampler were first col-lected at Ti Tree Bend in 1992, with year–round sampling from 1997. Thestation is located at the Launceston Council Waste Water Treatment Plant onthe Tamar River. Initially the station was 170 metres east of the BoM Ti TreeBend Weather Station. In December 2008 the air station was moved a further200 metres north-east to a more isolated location away from heavy vehicle traf-fic to avoid local dust contamination. The station was upgraded in March 2002with the installation of a PM10 TEOM, a permanent station building in 2004,and the installation of Andersen RAASTM Low Volume Air Samplers (LVAS)for PM2.5 and PM10 in August 2005. The following instruments operated at theTi Tree Bend station in 2014:

• PM10 measured by Andersen RAAS low volume air sampler (LVAS), ac-cording to AS 3580.9.9 :2006, sampled every day.

• PM2.5 measured by Andersen RAAS low volume air sampler (LVAS), ac-cording to AS 3580.9.10-2006, sampled every day.

• PM10 via collocated TEOM direct-reading instrument.

• PM2.5 via collocated TEOM with an SSI and VSCC.

• DustTrak DRX for real–time indicative PM2.5 and PM10 .

B.3 Devonport


The extent of the Devonport airshed is not well defined, as the limited availabil-ity of detailed meteorological data has made it difficult to develop comprehensiveatmospheric dispersion models for the Region. For the purpose of the Measure,the Devonport Region boundaries are defined as presented in Figure 21. Al-though there is no functional purpose served in exactly defining the boundaryAGM co-ordinates, these may be taken to be defined by the south-west corner(Easting 441 000; Northing 5430 000) and the north-east corner (Easting 454000; Northing 5444 000).


The population density and topography for the Devonport Region are presentedin Figure 21. The majority of the population resides within approximately a5 km radius of the CBD. In total, the population of the Devonport Region asdefined in the Air Monitoring Plan for Tasmania is approximately 33,500 (ABS2006).

Devonport is located in a shallow coastal plain on the banks of the MerseyRiver. The Mersey River connects the town of Latrobe with Devonport.



Figure 21: Map of Devonport Region Including Population Density and Topog-raphy. The location of the Devonport air station is indicated.



Figure 22: Satellite image (from Google Earth) of Devonport showing the loca-tion of the air monitoring station.

B.3.3 Meteorology

Westerly winds tend to prevail in the Devonport Region, with atmospheric calmconditions most frequent in autumn and winter.

Strongly stable atmospheric conditions in Devonport are normally associatedwith southerly, south–easterly or easterly winds draining out of the Valley. Thisis especially evident in winter.

B.3.4 Devonport: Valley road TAFE Performance and Trend station

A campaign monitoring programme for particles at the Devonport High Schoolin 2003 confirmed that central Devonport experienced elevated levels of PM10 airpollution during the winter months, which could exceed the 50 µg m−3 AirNEPM 24–hr standard under calm atmospheric conditions. Plans to installa permanent monitoring station at the grounds of the Devonport High Schoolproved to be impractical, and after negotiations with owners of alternative sites,the Devonport NEPM Performance and Trend station was established in thegrounds of the Devonport TAFE in late 2012 (see Figure 22).

The following instruments operated at the Devonport station in 2014:

• PM2.5 measured by sequential Low Volume Air Sampler (LVAS), accordingto AS 3580.9.10:2006, sampled every day.



• PM10 measured by sequential Low Volume Air Sampler (LVAS), accordingto AS 3580.9.9 :2006, sampled every day.

• PM2.5 and PM10 via collocated TEOM direct-reading instruments. (PM10 accordingto AS3580.9.8:2008.)

• DustTrak DRX for real–time indicative PM2.5 and PM10 .



C Australian Standard Methods

The reference methods specified in Schedule 3 of the Air NEPM for determiningPM10 particulate concentration in ambient air are:

• AS3580.9.6–1990: Determination of Suspended Particulate Matter – PM10

High Volume Sampler with Size Selective Inlet – Gravimetric Method.

• AS3580.9.7– 1990: Determination of Suspended Particulate Matter - PM10

Dichotomous Sampler – Gravimetric method

Advances in air sampler technology and the requirement to measure smallerparticulate size fractions have seen the widespread adoption of US EPA com-pliant low volume air samplers as the preferred method for the measurementof PM10 and PM2.5 in ambient air. These techniques are now recognised by thefollowing Australia/New Zealand standards:

• AS3580.9.9:2006: Methods for sampling and analysis of ambient air - De-termination of suspended particulate matter - PM10 low volume sampler- Gravimetric Method.

• AS3580.9.10:2006: Methods for sampling and analysis of ambient air - De-termination of suspended particulate matter - PM2.5 low volume sampler- Gravimetric Method.

The Thermo–Electron/Andersen RAAS and Partisol sequential low volumeair samplers used by the Environment Division are recognised as ReferenceMethods for PM2.5 and PM10 monitoring in the US EPA List of Designated Ref-erence and Equivalent Methods (www.epa.gov/ttn/amtic/criteria.html). De-tails are provided in the following table:

Air Sampler Size USEPA Approval No.

Andersen Model RAAS10–300 PM10 Manual Reference Method RFPS-0699-132

R&P PartisolA R©–Plus Model 2025 PM10 Manual Reference Method RFPS–1298–127Thermo–Electron Model RAAS2.5–300 PM2.5 Manual Reference Method RFPS-0699-132

R&P PartisolA R©–Plus Model 2025 FEM PM2.5 Manual Reference Method RFPS–1298–145

Table 25: US EPA–listed reference methods for PM10 and PM2.5 .

Continuous monitoring of the PM10 particle concentrations at Launceston,Hobart and Devonport has been performed using TEOMs fitted with a PM10 sizeselective inlet, in accordance with AS/NZS 3580.9.8:2008 (Methods for samplingand analysis of ambient air – PM10 continuous direct mass method using atapered element oscillating microbalance analyser).

Where practicable, the daily average PM10 concentrations measured by anapproved low volume air sampler were used for the purposes of determiningcompliance with the NEPM Standard. When LVAS data were not available, thedaily average PM10 measurement from the TEOM was used, with the followingempirical temperature adjustment developed for Tasmanian conditions. DailyLVAS monitoring of PM10 ceased at Hobart and Launceston in September 2012due to resource reallocation, but was restarted at both stations in mid 2014.

– C AUSTRALIAN STANDARD METHODS


Note: In the following, the Temperature Correction Factor is denoted asTCF, and the 24–hour (calendar day) averaged temperature is denoted as T24.

The adjusted calendar–day averaged TEOM PM10 is derived from the mea-sured calendar–day averaged TEOM PM10 by:

Adjusted PM10 = Measured PM10xTCF, where : (1)

TCF = 1.00, for T24 ≥ 15 C (2)

TCF = 1.00 + (15 − T24)/25, for 0 C < T24 < 15 C (3)

TCF = 1.60, when T24 ≤ 0 C (4)

Note: This reflects a change from 2007 and earlier years where TCF was previ-ously:

TCF = 1.00, for T24 ≥ 15 C (5)

TCF = (1.00 + (15 − T24)/15), for 0 C < T24 < 15 C, and (6)

TCF = 2.00, T24 ≤ 0. (7)

(See the 2008 Tasmanian Monitoring Report for a discussion of this issue.)The uncertainties associated with the low-volume measurements (U95) are

estimated to be 1.4 µg m−3 at 25 µg m−3 and 2.6 µg m−3 at 50 µg m−3 . For theday–averaged TEOM PM10 , 95% of the measurements are within 6 µg m−3 ofthe low-volume air sampler value for simultaneous observations.

– C AUSTRALIAN STANDARD METHODS

TASMANIAN AIR MONITORING REPORT 2014 COMPLIANCE … · 2018-08-22 · Air NEPM Monitoring Report...

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