2 Introduction

The Ministry has a Memorandum of Understanding with the New Zealand Ministry of Health (MoH) to collect and supply air quality monitoring data to the World Health Organization (WHO) from three sites - two in Auckland and one in Christchurch.

This data has historically formed New Zealand's contribution to the WHO's global environmental monitoring system/air pollution programme (GEMS/AIR) which began in 1973. [Schwela DH. 1999. Public health and the air management information system (AMIS).Epidemiology10(5): 647-55.]

In 1996, the WHO developed the air management information system (AMIS), the successor to GEMS/AIR. The objective of AMIS is to transfer information on air pollutant concentrations and air quality management between countries. It also aims to support and assist in the maintenance of air quality in parts of New Zealand that enjoy clean air and to improve air quality in places where it has deteriorated.

As a result, monitoring from the AMIS programme is used by the Ministry to support and enhance ambient air quality monitoring and management in Auckland and Christchurch. In fact, the GEMS/AMIS ambient air quality sites are the longest-running sites in New Zealand and, as such, are very important in identifying local long-term trends in air pollution.

The Auckland sites are located in the industrial area of Penrose, which is to the southeast of the city centre, and in Mt Eden and Kingsland, both of which are older residential areas just south of the city centre. Air quality monitoring has been performed in Penrose since 1964 and at Mt Eden between 1982 and 2004. In October 2004, the Mt Eden site was decommissioned pending redevelopment of the site and replaced by the Kingsland site at Kowhai Intermediate School.

Between 1989 and 2002, monitoring was undertaken in Christchurch at a site located in the older residential area of St Albans which is just north of the city centre. Due to impending redevelopment of this site, the monitoring station was relocated in November 2002 to a site in Burnside/Bishopdale which is a newer residential area to the northwest of the city centre.

Environment Canterbury provided sampling services for gravimetric and passive monitoring methods at the two Christchurch sites (Coles Place, St Albans and Greers Road, Burnside).

This report includes graphical and statistical presentations of the data as well as any data collection issues that may have arisen during the monitoring period.

All data in this report has been completely validated. Quality assurance checks have been carried out to ensure that invalid and calibration data is not reported.