Coal fire ban may clear air: report

BY AMY MILNE

Banning coal and open fires, and installing new multi-fuel burners in homes might be needed to reduce air pollution in Invercargill.

They are some of the recommendations in an Environment Southland-commissioned air quality management report from Environet Ltd Air Quality and IT Specialists.

The report says a 48 per cent reduction in PM10 (particles of 10 micrometres) emissions is required to meet the National Emission Standards target by 2013.

Environment Southland environmental information manager John Prince said Invercargill fell below air-quality standards six times this winter, with domestic heating and weather the main reasons for the breaches.

Southland's calm, frosty nights tended to trap smoke from domestic fires, increasing PM10 levels and creating a health hazard, particularly for people with pre-existing lung conditions, Mr Prince said.

"I guess what's different about our part of the world is it's generally colder and there's a lot of poor housing that's inadequately insulated," he said.

The report is one of two – one for managing PM10 and one for trends – the council commissioned after receiving a $40,000 grant from the Government Envirolink fund.

The report says domestic heating contributes about 96 per cent of daily winter PM10, with 2 per cent from motor vehicles and 2 per cent from industry. Outdoor burning produced less than 1 per cent.

Banning coal would be most effective in reducing PM10, combined with banning outdoor and open fires and the mandatory replacement of non-compliant solid-fuel burners, it says.

Increasing home insulation and incentives to accelerate the replacement of burners with cleaner heat alternatives might improve the chance of meeting targets, it says.

"Alternative incentives could be used in combination with a ban on outdoor rubbish burning, a ban on open fires and no new installation of multi-fuel burners. The addition of a 15-year phase-out of existing burners would increase the certainty around this option."

However, the effectiveness of reaching targets will depend on the uptake by households to change the way they heat their homes.

Meanwhile, the trend report says there has been a 39 per cent reduction in PM10 between 2003 and 2008. However, the continuing monitoring of trends in PM10 concentrations in Invercargill is likely to be difficult because of the relocation of the Miller St monitoring site to Pomona St this year.

"It is recommended that monitoring be carried out at Miller St every few years to allow for trend analysis until five to 10 years of data are available from the Pomona St air quality monitoring site."

Environment Southland project manager for the review Aaron Leith said once council had considered the findings in the Envirolink reports, any recommendations decided on would be included as part of its Regional Air Quality Plan review.

The review was required to meet the national standards. The existing plan has been operative since 1999 and does not contain regulations to control discharges to air from domestic home heating, he said.

GETTING THERE

Recommendations for managing PM10 concentrations:

• Option 1: Prohibiting coal, banning outdoor rubbish burning, increasing insulation in homes and the mandatory replacement of non-complying solid-fuel burners with those meeting the National Emission Standards design criteria 15 years after installation, with or without incentives to accelerate the replacement of burners.
• Option 2: Establish a "real-life" emission limit for coal burners and prohibit the use of burners installed pre-2005, open fires, outdoor rubbish burning and ensuring homes are insulated to reduce fuel consumption.
• Option 3: Incentives to encourage conversion to clean-heat alternatives could be used in combination with a ban on outdoor rubbish burning, open fires and no new installations of multi-fuel burners, and a 15-year phase-out of existing burners.

*Envirolink is a regional council- driven funding scheme, with funds administered by the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST). – Source: envirolink.govt.nz

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