Atmosphere Theme Report
Australia State of the Environment Report 2001 (Theme Report)
Lead Author: Dr Peter Manins, Environmental Consulting and Research Unit, CSIRO Atmospheric Research, Authors
Published by CSIRO on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Heritage, 2001
ISBN 0 643 06746 9
Urban Air Quality (continued)
Indicators of the pressure on urban air quality
Urban and regional emissions [A Indicators 3.12 and 3.18]
Motor vehicles (cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles) are the major emitter of air pollutants in urban Australia. Traffic contributes more than 75% of the carbon monoxide emissions, most emissions of oxides of nitrogen, and is a major contributor to emissions of organic compounds (Figure 84). Emissions from vehicles, especially diesels, include very fine particles that contribute to urban haze and are implicated in adverse health effects. Particle emissions are expected to decline as the new plans to reduce the sulfur in diesel fuel, through national fuel quality standards, come to fruition.
Figure 84: Sources of 1995 to 1996 emissions for Port Phillip Region, Vic.
EPAV (1998b) state that 75% of PM10, and 70% of PM2.5 is due to road dust. EPAV subsequently state that the road dust figures were overestimated by an order of magnitude. Accordingly, road dust is not included here. There is similar uncertainty in relation to biogenics. This figure gives the original EPAV estimates.
Source: Air Emissions inventory, Port Phillip Region, Publication 632, EPAV (1998b)
Vehicles using leaded petrol have been the major contributor to ambient urban lead levels in Australia (Figure 85). Mandatory use of unleaded petrol in new cars since 1986, along with a decrease in the proportion of lead in leaded petrol for older vehicles, resulted in the decline of airborne lead (see Figure 98). With the planned total phase-out of leaded petrol by 1 January 2002, the decline is expected to continue.
Figure 85: Australian consumption of leaded and unleaded petrol (megalitres, ML) from 1977 to 1998.
Source: Australian Institute of Petroleum (1994, 1999)
The National Pollutant Inventory
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI 1998) reports on the mass of pollutants emitted to the atmosphere (see http://www.npi.ea.gov.au ).
Because the NPI is incomplete at the time of writing, an estimate of emissions was based on the latest published emission inventory for each of the major airsheds in Australia for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) (Figure 86), carbon monoxide (CO) (Figure 87) and VOCs (Figure 88). Comparing the towns in these figures is complicated by emissions from nearby regions. Data for Greater Sydney includes emissions from the Hunter Valley, the electricity generating area to the north of Sydney. The emissions from the Port Phillip region exclude the analogous area, the Latrobe Valley, to the east of Melbourne.
Figure 86: Australian urban emissions of oxides of nitrogen.
Source: Environmental Agencies EPAN (1997), EPAV (1998b), EPAQ (1999a) and DEP (2000a)
Figure 87: Australian urban emissions of carbon monoxide.
Source: Environmental Agencies EPAN (1997), EPAV (1998b), EPAQ (1999a) and DEP (2000a)
Figure 88: Australian urban emissions of volatile organic compounds.
The biogenic component is based on updated EPAV estimates.
Source: Environmental Agencies EPAN (1997), EPAV (1998b), EPAQ (1999a) and DEP (2000a)