Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 1

Winter 2015

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015

Air quality in the Newcastle region from 1 June to 31 August 2015 was generally good.

Levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ammonia (NH3) were all below benchmark

concentrations.

Daily average levels for particulate matter PM10 (particles less than or equal to 10 microns in

diameter) were above the 50 µg/m3 benchmark on three days (19 and 21–22 August). Carrington

recorded a daily average of 54.9 µg/m3 on 22 August, while Stockton recorded elevated levels on all

three days (with values ranging from 51.3 to 58.4 µg/m3). A number of fires were burning in or near

the Newcastle region1 during this period.

Daily average levels for PM2.5 fine particles (particles less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter)

were above the 25 µg/m3 benchmark on five days:

o Beresfield recorded a daily average of 25.9 µg/m3 on 21 August and Carrington, Mayfield and

Newcastle recorded levels ranging from 27.7 to 30.7 µg/m3 on the next day (22 August). These

elevated levels coincide with the elevated PM10 days, and are likely due to nearby fires.

o Stockton recorded elevated levels on three days (27 June and 4–5 July), with values ranging from

27.0 to 30.9 µg/m3, occurring under north-westerly winds.

Days above benchmark concentrations

The majority of days over the PM10 and PM2.5 benchmarks occurred during three days in August with

Stockton PM10 over the benchmark on 19 and 21-22 August; Carrington PM10 on 22 August; Beresfield

PM2.5 on 21 August; and Carrington, Mayfield and Newcastle PM2.5 on 22 August. Stockton PM2.5 was

over the benchmark on three separate days (27 June and 4–5 July).

Table 1: Number of days above the relevant benchmarks – winter 2015

Station PM10

daily [50 µg/m3

benchmark]

PM2.5

daily [25 µg/m3

benchmark]

SO2

hourly [20 pphm

benchmark]

SO2

daily [8 pphm

benchmark]

NO2

hourly [12 pphm

benchmark]

NH3

hourly [46 pphm

benchmark]

Beresfield 0 1 0 0 0 -

Carrington 1 1 0 0 0 -

Mayfield 0 1 0 0 0 -

Newcastle 0 1 0 0 0 -

Stockton 3 3 0 0 0 0

Wallsend 0 0 0 0 0 -

µg/m3 = microgram per cubic metre and pphm = parts per hundred million by volume (i.e. parts of pollutant per hundred million parts of air) - = not monitored

1 Rural Fire Service ICON database

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 2

Daily time series plots

Daily one hour maximum concentrations of NO2, SO2 and NH3 remained well below the benchmarks.

Daily average PM10 concentrations were below the benchmark throughout winter 2015, except for three

days in August, likely due to fires. Daily average PM2.5 were also elevated during this same period in

August, along with three additional days at Stockton earlier in the season.

Figure 1: Daily average PM10 during winter 2015

Figure 2: Daily average PM2.5 during winter 2015

Figure 3: Daily 1-hr maximum NO2 during winter 2015

Figure 4: Daily 1-hr maximum SO2 during winter 2015

Figure 5: Daily 1-hr maximum NH3 during winter 2015

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 3

Pollution roses

The seasonal pollution rose maps show that the very small percentage of elevated hourly PM10 and PM2.5

levels2 occurring at some sites during autumn were predominantly from the north to northwest. In August,

these were most likely due to fires.

Figure 6: Hourly PM10 pollution roses for the Newcastle region for winter 2015

Figure 7: Hourly PM2.5 pollution roses for the Newcastle region for winter 2015

2 Note: There are no standards for hourly PM10/PM2.5 in the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure (Air NEPM)

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 4

Seasonal comparisons

This section compares air quality levels in winter 2015 with previous winter seasons, where data were

available. Monitoring at Stockton commenced in October 20123 and at Mayfield and Carrington in August

2014. Monitoring of PM2.5 at Newcastle commenced in December 2013.

All days were below benchmark concentrations for NO2 and SO2 in winter during the past three years at

Beresfield, Newcastle, Stockton and Wallsend and since monitoring began at Carrington and Mayfield. For

NH3 at Stockton, Orica reported two hourly concentrations over the 0.46 ppm assessment criteria in July and

August 2013.

Carrington and Stockton recorded one and three days, respectively, with average concentrations above the

PM10 benchmark in winter 2015, likely due to fires. In previous winter seasons there were no days recorded

over the PM10 benchmark.

Beresfield, Carrington, Mayfield and Newcastle each recorded one day with average concentrations over the

PM2.5 benchmark in winter 2015 likely due to fires, while three days were recorded at Stockton. In previous

winter seasons there were no days recorded over the PM2.5 benchmark at all sites, except Stockton which

also had three days in winter 2013.

Figure 8: Number of days above the PM10 and PM2.5 benchmarks: winter 2015, 2014 and 2013

3 Monitoring at Stockton was originally undertaken by Orica (Stockton Air Quality Monitoring) then by the Office of Environment and Heritage (Newcastle Local Air Quality Monitoring Network - Map) from October 2014.

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 5

Meteorological summary

Rainfall and temperature4

The Newcastle region experienced ‘below average’ rainfall during winter (Figure 9). Rainfall was around

100–200 millimetres less in winter 2015 compared to winter 2014 and similar to winter 2013. Maximum

temperatures were above average, while minimum temperatures were average during the season.

Figure 9: NSW rainfall deciles - winter 2015

Wind

The winds were predominantly from the north-west at all sites during winter 2015, which is typical for this time

of year.

Figure 10: Wind rose map for the Newcastle region for winter 2015

4 Rainfall and temperature information are from the Bureau of Meteorology seasonal climate statement New South Wales in winter

2015: An average winter with rain and snow and climate maps (Maps of recent and past conditions) accessed September 2015.

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 6

Particle event – 19 to 22 August 2015

From 19 to 22 August, multiple sites in the Newcastle region recorded PM10 and PM2.5 daily average

concentrations above the relevant benchmarks. Particle levels over this period increased over time, with

the peaks occurring on 22 August (Table 2, Figure 11 and Figure 12). Winds and coinciding elevated

hourly5 particle levels were predominantly from the northwest to northeast throughout the region (Figure

13 and Figure 14).

Elevated particle levels during this period were coincident with hazard reduction burning and other small

fires near to or in the Newcastle region. The most significant burns were:

A 1876 hectare burn near Karuah from 19–24 August, approximately 30 kilometres north to northeast

(‘FCNSW Wallaroo State Forest HRB’ fire)

A 330 hectare burn near Medowie from 20–24 August, approximately 20 kilometres north to

northeast

(‘NPWS LNCR Goldmine HR’ fire)

A 30 hectare burn at Buchanan from 22–23 August, approximately 10 kilometres west to northwest

(‘Buttai HR’ fire).

Table 2: Maximum daily PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in the Newcastle region from 19 to 22 August 2015

Date Max daily PM10

(µg/m3)

Max daily PM2.5

(µg/m3)

Number of sites with particle

levels over a benchmark

Sites, parameters and values (µg/m3)

Prevailing conditions

19/8/15 51.3 14.7 1 Stockton PM10 (51.3) Elevated levels under northeast winds. Large fire ~30 km north to northeast.

20/8/15 38.6 20.2 0 Predominantly light northwest to northeast winds. Large fires ~20–30 km north to northeast.

21/8/15 58.4 25.9 2 Stockton PM10 (58.4) Beresfield PM2.5 (25.9)

Elevated levels predominantly under light northwest to east winds. Large fires ~20–30 km north to northeast.

22/8/15 54.9 30.7 4 Carrington PM10 (54.9) Stockton PM10 (54.8) Carrington PM2.5 (30.7) Mayfield PM2.5 (27.7) Newcastle PM2.5 (28.4)

Elevated levels under light northwest to northeast winds. Large fires ~20–30 km north to northeast and 10 km west to northwest.

Figure 11: Daily average PM10 from 18 to 23 August 2015

Figure 12: Daily average PM2.5 from 18 to 23 August 2015

5 Note: There are no standards for hourly PM10 and PM2.5 in the National Environment Protection (Ambient Air Quality) Measure (Air NEPM).

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 7

Figure 13: Hourly PM10 pollution rose map for the Newcastle region from 19 to 22 August 2015

Figure 14: Hourly PM2.5 pollution rose map for the Newcastle region from 19 to 22 August 2015

Air quality in Newcastle: Winter 2015 8

Network performance

The target network performance is at least 95% available data for all parameters. For NO2 and SO2, due

to daily calibrations, the maximum online time that can be attained is 96%.

Table 3: Online performance (%) during winter 2015

Station Particles PM10

daily

Particles PM2.5

daily

Gases SO2

hourly

Gases NO2

hourly

Gases NH3

hourly

Meteorology Wind

hourly

Beresfield 100 91 95 95 - 100

Carrington 100 99 96 95 - 100

Mayfield 100 99 94 91 - 100

Newcastle 97 97 94 94 - 99

Stockton 92 99 95 95 93 100

Wallsend 96 98 94 95 - 100 - = not monitored

The overall reduced online times were mainly due to:

Stockton – PM10 instrument problems (five days) and NH3 instrument problem (two days)

Beresfield – intermittent negative data throughout

Mayfield – NO2 annual maintenance checks (two days) and instrument problems (three days).

© 2016 State of NSW and Office of Environment and Heritage

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ISSN 2206-0421

OEH 2015/0843 February 2016