Air monitoring

An essential key to understanding and improving environmental performance is the availability of good quality air monitoring data.

The City of Newcastle maintains an ambient air monitoring network as part of its proactive perspective on air quality issues. Council works with local industries in sharing air quality information from all ambient air monitoring stations.

Additional data from air quality monitoring stations operated by the Environment Protection Authority also contributes to the overview of air quality in Newcastle.

The following graphs are for some of the urban air pollutants that are currently thought to present the greatest risk to the health and well being of the population of Newcastle.

Total Suspended Particulates (TSP)

TSP represents the whole range of particulate matter normally found in the urban atmosphere. Sources include combustion processes, motor vehicles, bushfires, domestic fuel heaters, power generation, stockpiles and transport of extractive materials, and some industrial processes.

PM₁₀
PM₁₀ refers to particulate matter of less than 10µm in diameter.

Mayfield_PM10

Stockton_PM10

Sulphur Dioxide
SO₂ is a colourless gas produced as a by-product of burning fossil fuels that contain sulphur. This gas is highly soluble in water and can be a major contributing gas in the formation of acid rain. This type of air pollution is generally not a significant problem in Australian Cities due to the low sulphur content of our fuels.

Steel_River_SO2

Oxides of Nitrogen

NO_x includes nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and nitric oxide (NO). NO₂ is the second major acid in acid rain, and is a major precursor in the formation of photochemical smog. The main sources of NO_x are industry and motor vehicles. There is currently no guideline for NO_x emissions, although one exists for NO₂.

Steel_River_NOx

Annual Average Fine Particulates - Mayfield - (micrograms per cubic metre)

Council has continued to support the measurement and analysis PM.2.5 Fine Particulates at Mayfield by ANSTO Physics (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) since 1993. In 2000 and 2001, reductions of the total weight, lead, soil, elemental carbon, potassium and iron in ambient air are evident.

PM2.5