Are Auckland Vehicle Pollutants Killing Us?

in General by Jon C — March 21, 2010 at 12:05 am | 7 comments

There are 35 new vehicles coming onto Auckland roads every day.

And as noted from the ARC state of Auckland report the other day, Aucklanders are driving more and in vehicles with higher horsepower.

If it wasn’t for all of that - and the 17% of Auckland vehicles with bad emissions, our air we breath may actually be stabilised or improving.

I thought, a few years ago, greatly reducing use of my car and instead using public transport or other means was one way to help.

But as a fit healthy person who cycles and walks a lot, I was staggered to then get an out-of-the-blue mysterious diagnosis of developing asthma symptoms.

So I take special interest in the condition of Auckland’s air.
But after getting the doctor’s diagnosis, I have wondered if breathing lots of that air is actually killing us.
Fortunately, my lifestyle hasn’t been greatly affected as I am healthy but the only explanation the doctors could give was that maybe the cause is  ”in the air or in the food we are eating.” And he took special note of the way I walk around a lot more in the open than when I drove my car a lot causing this pollution. It seems unfair.

My doctor said he was very concerned at the numbers of otherwise healthy people like me suddenly developing asthma without clear lifestyle reasons why.

One in six adult New Zealanders and 27 per cent of six to seven year olds suffer from asthma.

Fine particulates and NO 2 are not a proven cause of asthma but are known to be an irritant for people with asthma, which leads to an increased likelihood and severity of asthma attacks. (NO and NO 2 are together referred to as nitrogen oxides (NOx). Nitrogen oxides are formed by the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). Motor vehicles are a large source of NO x in urban areas, mostly emitted as NO with some NO2. NO 2 can irritate the lungs and increase susceptibility to, and severity of, asthma and lower resistance to infections such as influenza. Long-term exposure to low levels of NO 2 can 3the years. As a result, the average NO2 concentrations have not shown significant changes within the Auckland region)

So what’s the state of the Auckland air -and vehicles’ contribution to it?

The ARC report says the good news is that air quality in the Auckland region is generally good in comparison to many cities in the world. As we suspect, motor vehicles are the main cause of the air pollution problem in the Auckland region.

Here are the trends:

• Annual average ozone levels have changed little over the past ten years.
• However, there is continuing evidence of photochemical reactions occurring in the region and elevated levels of ozone could occur during summer, leading to exceedences of the standards and guidelines.
• Vehicle technology has improved significantly over the years.
• Exhaust emissions standards have been introduced recently for new and used vehicles entering New Zealand and these standards get progressively tighter over time. As a result, there has been a gradual reduction in the concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) and fine particulates emitted from motor vehicles.
• 10 per cent of vehicles create 50 per cent of the air pollution
• Diesel vehicles produce higher emissions of smoke,  but petrol vehicles are worse for NO and CO emissions

• Around half of the cars on Auckland’s roads are over 12 years old, with less efficient fuel and emission ratings than newer cars
• Japanese used imports generally discharge less pollution than New Zealand new vehicles of the same age.
• However, the improvements in air pollution that have resulted from better fuel, new vehicle technology and tighter emissions standards have now been offset by the growth in vehicle numbers, kilometres travelled and the ageing vehicle fleet.

And that’s the crunch.

There are also especially troublesome areas like Queen St and Khyber Pass. Auckland’s measured NO2 concentrations at peak traffic sites exceed the standards and guidelines. levels in the morning and high particulate levels at night. Sites like Khyber have similar traffic levels and pollutant emission levels through the day, although concentrations are usually lower at midday because there is more wind.

So as Auckland’s population jumps and people buy more cars and travel more, despite the popularity of public transport, we can only expect the pollution to get worse, despite the otherwise encouraging signs that it should be getting better or at least no worse than it is today.

Tags: ARC asthma Auckland pollution pollution vehicle emissions