‘Significant issues’ prompt port to measure air quality

Port Otago will start to measure air quality at its Port Chalmers base this year, chief executive Kevin Winders says. Otago Regional Council chairwoman Marian Hobbs wrote, in her governance report tabled at the end of January, that despite significant improvements in noise pollution levels "there are still significant issues about air quality" in the seaside village because of port operations. And in an interview following Ms Hobbs’ statement, Mr Winders said new regulations that came into force this year were expected to have a positive effect on air quality in the area, but the planned on-site monitoring, still in the early stages, could serve to allay the concerns of some in the community. "We’ve kicked off that project ourselves," he said. "Once we understand the particulates and the levels, that will give us a pretty good idea of the impact on the community — and it could be very minor." Ms Hobbs said while the report was tabled at the council meeting last month it expressed her personal views "as a human being". The former minister for the environment and current Careys Bay resident said she had not realised ports were exempted from air quality until just two months ago and it was a source of embarrassment for her. Council air quality scientist Sarah Harrison said some temporary measuring of smaller particulates, known as PM2.5, had been completed at the port in 2013 and the council was looking into the possibility of further work there in the future.

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Posted by admin on Feb 9 2020. Filed under News at Now, News Worldwide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry