Particulate Matter Pollution in Australia CENTRE FOR AUSTRALIAN WEATHER AND CLIMATE RESEARCH/CSIRO MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH Melita Keywood and Martin.

Particulate Matter Pollution in Australia

CENTRE FOR AUSTRALIAN WEATHER AND CLIMATE RESEARCH/CSIRO MARINE AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH

Melita Keywood and Martin Cope 22 October 2013

Air Quality in Australia

Although air quality in Australia is generally good Australians consistently rank air pollution as a major environmental concern

In 1998, the Ambient Air Quality National Environment Protection Measure (AAQ NEPM) was established to set national ambient air quality standards. These standards cover six pollutants – particles (PM10), ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and lead.

State Regulatory Authorities (EPA) –responsible for monitoring and reporting

1998 –main problems are ozone and particles in urban centres, winter time PM10 exceedences due to domestic woodheater emissions

2 |

3 |

A success story: Launceston PM10

4 |

http://epa.tas.gov.au/documents/annual%20nepm%20report%20air%20quality%20tasmania%202011.pdf

Launceston Woodheater Replacement Program http://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/lcc/index.php?c=172

National Plan for Clean Air

In 2011 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed that the COAG Standing Council on Environment and Water would develop a National Plan for Clean Air to improve air quality, and community health and well being, to be delivered to COAG by the end of 2014.• Focus on particles- greatest health benefits to be gained• Exposure based• http://www.scew.gov.au/coag-strategic-priorities/nation

al-plan-clean-air

5 |

2013 Senate Enquiry• 154 submissions• Recommendations

•Collection of additional data on ultrafine particles concentration

•Pollution monitoring should accurately capture population exposure for communities and homes proximate to pollution point sources.

•Buffer zones be used to protect populated areas from large point-source polluters.

•Coal mining•Woodheaters• http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Compl

eted_inquiries/2010-13/airquality/report/index

6 |

Particulate Mass (PM) issues

7 |

• Transport•Domestic heating• Industry• Episodic but extreme events

•Smoke from bushfires•Dust storms

Sydney Oct 17 2013 Picture: DAMIAN SHAW Source: News Limited

Melbourne 2003

PM2.5 over Australia December 2006

• Red = secondary aerosol from smoke• Brown =primary

aerosol from smoke• yellow= dust• White = sea salt• Purple= isoprene• CSIRO CCAM/CTM

8 |

SourceType

Soil/Crustal Dust

Sea salt Smoke Vehicles, Industry, Residential

Vegetation

Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K NaCl VOCs, NOx,

Particles VOC NOx SO2 VOCs

Primary

Modified by chemical processes

Secondary

Control Options Low Nil Low High High High Medium

via NOx

Secondary Organic Aerosol

10 |

Sydney Particle Study

Presentation title | Presenter name11 |

From Branka and Zoran at QUT

Biogenics

Presentation title | Presenter name12 |

Morning Afternoon Night

Isoprene + oxidation products 0.53 0.81 0.35

Monoterpenes 0.71 0.11 0.16

Acetonitrile 0.12 0.07 0.79

Formic acid 0.40 0.72 0.65

Temperature 0.28 0.90 0.48

NOx 0.44 -0.37 0.72

The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research A partnership between CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology

Secondary organic aerosols

What proportion of the SOA is anthropogenic (VOC control) vs. biogenic (NOx control)?

SourceType

Soil/Crustal Dust

Sea salt Smoke Vehicles, Industry, Residential

Vegetation

Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, K NaCl VOCs, NOx,

Particles VOC NOx SO2 VOCs

Primary

Modified by chemical processes

Secondary

Control Options Low Nil Low High High High Medium

via NOx

Conclusions

• Particles continue to be a significant air quality issue in Australia• The development of the National Plan for Clean Air will focus on

particles because of the size of the health benefits to be gained.• Process understanding can lead to successful policy

implementation and outcomes e.g. Launceston PM10 reduction• Sydney -particle formation and growth events occur on 50% of

days in Sydney• Sydney > 50% of secondary organic aerosol is formed from

oxidation of biogenic VOCs- requires different controls than anthropogenic VOCs

15 |

Opportunities for China-Australia Collaboration

• Australia-China Council Grants Program- annual competitive grants program, the Australia-China Council supports projects across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Australia that deliver tangible outcomes for Australia-China relations in the priority areas of Economics and Trade, Society and Culture and Education and Science http://www.dfat.gov.au/acc/grants/index.html

• China Scholarship Council Funding – for PhD Students and Visiting Scholars--Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE) Memorandum of Understanding

• Australia-China Science and Research Fund (ACSRF) provides support for strategic science and research collaboration of mutual benefit to Australia and China http://www.innovation.gov.au/Science/InternationalCollaboration/ACSRF/Pages/default.aspx• Australia China Science Academies Symposia Series

16 |

CSIRO Reactive Gases and Aerosol Team

17 |

Research –integrates observation and modelling

Urban Air Quality

PM Source ApportionmentParticle formationPhotochemistryOzone formationSecondary Organic AerosolIndoor Air

Aerosol trendsTropospheric ozone trendsCCN in the MBLOrganic aerosol in the MBLVOCs in the MBLHg in the MBL

Biomass burning smoke- emissions, transformations, impactsPersistent Organic Pollutants

Capabilities

•Models• CTM• Regional• Global Aerosol

•Observation Campaigns• Intensive• Long term• Reactive gases• Aerosols

Platforms

•Cape Grim

•Tropical Station•RV Investigator

Background Air Quality