Air Quality Monitoring
A green burn within feet of the Exeter air monitoring station!!
In 2009 significant changes were made to ambient air quality monitoring
in this state. Indicative real-time readings became available on the EPA Division's website.
Some 10 stations were reporting PM10 and PM 2.5's in real time at the end of the
year and there are about another 8 to be installed.
However, these readings cannot be used to determine if there has been an exceedence
of the NEPM (Ambient air) standard.The lazer particle counters do not qualify as an
appropoate measuring instrument under the PM10 NEPM Standard.
It can take up to six weeks to get a validated reading from the main
monitoring stations. The filter paper has to travel from Launceston to Hobart for
"conditioning and weighing."
The validated readings published on the EPA web site can be months out of date.
There is something drastically wrong with our air quality monitoring practices, if the high concentrations of forestry smoke in 2008 produced just one exceedence of our PM10 National Air Quality Standards for the year. How could this be? Faulty monitors, faulty monitoring methods, monitors placed in the wrong locations, wrongly interpretted results, or deliberate misrepresentation of the readings?
It could be argued ambient air quality monitoring should be done by an independent body, not by the State Government who own Forestry Tasmania and support the other private forest industries. There could be more on this issue at a later date
20.4.2009 - EPA releases details of 15
New Air Monitoring Stations
BLANkET
Air Monitors Tender Document The Equipment Being
Installed. Dustrak Spec
Sheet
9.4.2010 - EPA network to help solve air mysteries
22.4.2010 - EPA to investigate Gunns plannedburn smoke.