Marewa Park supposedly exceeded its concentrations of PM2.5 on Tuesday, but there's a good reason why. Photo / Paul Taylor
Marewa Park supposedly exceeded its concentrations of PM2.5 on Tuesday, but there's a good reason why. Photo / Paul Taylor
If you looked at a reading of Napier's air quality on Tuesday and were shocked, you weren't the only one.
Hawke's Bay Regional Council's reading at Marewa Park suggested it was a day where the city's air was dangerous to human health.
That's despite it being a clear, fine, 24degrees Celsius day. And it wasn't just Tuesday - breaches have been recorded 23 times since November.
But the council's been quick to quash concerns, saying the readings are a load of hot air.
Air quality monitoring in Napier began in 2006 at the Marewa Park site and these days breaches are rare occurrences, and almost always in the depths of winter as log fires light up.
So 23 breaches since November? Well, it was all down to one thing, a faulty machine, a council spokeswoman said.
PM10 and PM2.5 from home heating are the main pollutants monitored in the Marewa residential area. PM2.5 are very small airborne particles less than 2.5 micrometres across, so can be easily breathed deep into the lungs where the smallest particles can enter the bloodstream.
Health effects from them can include respiratory diseases, heart attacks, and lung cancer.
On Tuesday, Marewa Park exceeded its PM2.5 concentration, which is measured in micrograms (one-millionth of a gram) per cubic metre air. The National Environmental Standard for the 24 hour average is 25 micrograms per cubic metre for PM2.5. On Tuesday, it was 30. At times in November it was even higher.
A regional council spokeswoman said it was unlikely to happen again this summer, given the high reading on Tuesday was due to the way the instrument reacted to being serviced.
Servicing and mistaken readings aside, Hawke's Bay's air quality during winter months remains a concern.
The council said Hawke's Bay residents often left their wood buying too late and were being forced to buy and burn wet wood.
It is encouraging people to get their wood now.
Procurement Lead Mark Heane said in the last few years, several wood sellers claimed their wood was dry but when tested it showed moisture content over 25 per cent when tested.
"The Regional Council had three complaints last year about wet wood, though none about our approved Good Wood suppliers."
Winter months are usually bad air quality months for Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland
Heaney said the Regional Council was teaming up with some of its 'Good Wood' suppliers to offer six refunds of the cost of a cord of wood.
"The wood is priced by suppliers for providing dry wood that will burn hot, compared to the inefficiency of burning wet wood.
"Summer is the best time to get Good Wood for next winter. Buying wood and storing it properly ahead of winter means it will burn hotter and produce less smoke, heating your home better and keeping our air clean."
He said the supply of dry wood was always limited, and going into winter there was less available leading to price rises, frequently leaving only wet wood for sale by the end of winter.
"Professional wood merchants measure moisture content and advise if the wood is not ready to burn yet and the best thing people can do is plan and 'buy to burn next year'."
The Regional Council's Good Wood scheme is there to help buyers know they are getting wood that will burn dry and hot, ideally at less than 25 per cent moisture, he said.
"Our approved Good Wood merchants will replace or refund if Regional Council testing finds the moisture content is over 25 per cent if the wood has been sold as dry.
"We run this programme because Hawke's Bay's air quality isn't as good as it needs to be during the winter months when people are forced to buy and burn wet wood. This scheme recognises and promotes merchants who care about air quality, and care about their customers getting value for money."
The promotion runs from now through until the end of February.
