Pollution Levels Addressed

Tasman District Council is stepping up its monitoring around the use of log-burners as a cold winter drives up the number of air pollution exceedences in Richmond this year. A combination of low temperatures and still days has resulted in 13 exceedences, as at 17 July 2012, of the national standard for PM10 (particulate matter less than 10 micron in size).

The blip upward this year is at odds with a record low in 2010 of just seven exceedences, and with downward trends over the last decade. Trevor James, Council’s Resource Scientist, says that prior to new wood-burner rules being introduced in 2007, exceedences ran into the mid-30s, and even 40s each year.

Household wood-burners are the source of almost 90% of PM10 emissions. Old, inefficient burners must be replaced with approved models when a property changes hands within the Richmond area. A Land Information Memorandum (LIM) report alerts would-be buyers to the requirement, and Council staff also send out a letter as a courtesy. A Good Practice Guide for operating burners is available from the Council’s Service Centres and tips are listed on the website, www.tasman.govt.nz

Compliance Officer Helen Dempster says that as part of the monitoring strategy staff look for excessively smoky chimneys and talking to house-owners about how best to address the problem. In the case of tenanted properties, the owner is advised.

Where significant non-compliance is detected, Council may use its enforcement powers to resolve the issue, particularly where the property owners have previously been spoken to, Helen adds.

Trevor says the number of exceedences this winter is naturally a concern, but taking one year’s results without reference to the meteorological conditions can be deceptive. It would be very unusual if, in accounting for weather, we did not see continuing improvement, he says. However, the rate of improvement is expected to slow as the percentage of houses that are resold with replacement wood-burners increases.

Long-term trends will be analysed after winter. Richmond’s air has improved markedly over the last decade or so. For example, in 2000, and again in 2003, PM10 breaches totalled 46.