2 Introduction

The Ministry for the Environment has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Health to collect and supply air quality monitoring data to the World Health Organization (WHO) from two sites – one in Auckland and one in Christchurch.

This data has historically formed New Zealand’s contribution to WHO’s Global Environmental Monitoring System / Air Pollution Programme (GEMS/AIR) which began in 1973.²

In 1996, 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.

As a result, monitoring from the AMIS programme is used by the Ministry for the Environment to support and enhance ambient air quality monitoring and management in Auckland and Christchurch. The GEMS/AMIS ambient air quality sites are the longest running sites in New Zealand, and as such have provided long-term trends of air pollution for Auckland and Christchurch.

The Auckland site is located in the industrial area of Penrose to the south-east of the city centre. Air quality monitoring has been conducted in Penrose since 1964 (TSP and Pb). Previously, there was a monitoring site in Mt Eden and Kingsland, both of which are older residential areas just south of the city centre. Monitoring at Mt Eden was conducted between 1982 and 2004. In October 2004, the Mt Eden site was decommissioned pending redevelopment of the land and replaced by the Kingsland site at Kowhai Intermediate. In September 2007, the Kowhai, Kingsland site was decommissioned due to the construction of a swimming pool complex.

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. The monitoring station was relocated in November 2002 due to impending redevelopment of the site. The current site is in Burnside / Bishopdale which is a newer residential area to the north-west of the city centre.

Environment Canterbury provided sampling services for gravimetric and passive monitoring methods at the 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 validated. Quality assurance checks have been carried out to ensure that invalid and calibration data is not reported.