Environmental Reporting Data - Page 5

This dataset shows the total irrigated agricultural land area across New Zealand for 2002 and 2017. Agricultural land irrigated in 2017 is broken down by types of irrigation systems and farm type.

Although it enables and improves farming, irrigation can also have adverse consequences relating to recreation, and can increase pollution and leaching of contaminants into waterways. Irrigation can affect the natural form and character of land (eg dry land to greener and wetter land), fishing, cultivation and food production, animal drinking water, water supply, commercial and industrial water use, and hydro-electric power generation. More irrigated land, and more water abstraction, can place increased pressure on river flows, as well as indirectly increasing pressure on land and fresh water by enabling increased agricultural intensity.

More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a gas that is harmful to human health, ecosystems, and plants (US EPA, 2008). It can be emitted directly into the air but is often formed as a secondary pollutant when nitric oxide (NO) emissions react with other chemicals. It also contributes to the formation of secondary particulate matter (PM) and ozone, which have their own health impacts. In New Zealand, motor vehicles are the main human-made source of nitrogen oxides (NOx), the collective term for NO2 and NO. Because nitrogen dioxide concentrations are closely associated with vehicle emissions, it can be used as a proxy for other motor-vehicle pollutants such as benzene, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Human exposure to high nitrogen dioxide concentrations causes inflammation of the airways and respiratory problems, particularly asthma. Nitrogen dioxide causes leaf injury in plants exposed to high levels. It also contributes to forming secondary particulate matter and ozone, which have their own health impacts.
We report on observed nitrogen dioxide concentrations from 13 regional council and unitary authority monitoring sites. Council and unitary authority data are measured using regulatory-compliant monitors that can be directly compared with health guidelines.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a highly reactive gas formed when fuels containing sulphur, such as coal or petrochemical products (including high-sulphur ship fuel), are burned. It is also produced from industrial processes such as superphosphate fertiliser production and smelting sulphur-containing metal ores. Geothermal and volcanic gases are the main natural sources of sulphur dioxide.
When inhaled, sulphur dioxide is associated with respiratory problems such as bronchitis. It can aggravate the symptoms of asthma and chronic lung disease and cause irritation to eyes. On days with higher sulphur dioxide levels, hospital admissions for cardiac disease and mortality increase. In ecosystems, it can injure vegetation, acidify water and soil, and affect biodiversity.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Black carbon is a particle, often in the PM2.5 or ultra-fine size range, which is emitted from combustion sources and is commonly known as soot. In New Zealand most black carbon is emitted from vehicles (especially diesel vehicles), burning wood and coal for home heating, and outdoor burning. Both long and short-term exposure to black carbon is linked to serious health effects, such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013).
Black carbon warms the climate globally and regionally because it is efficient at absorbing energy from sunlight. Black carbon also increases ice and snow melt when deposited on these surfaces, darkening them and lowering albedo (proportion of light that is reflected) so they absorb more solar energy (Ramanathan & Carmichael, 2008).
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Inhaling particulate matter (PM) containing heavy metals can cause serious health effects (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013). Airborne arsenic is linked to lung cancers (WHO, 2013), and heart, liver, kidney, and nerve damage (Caussy, 2003). Nickel and vanadium are linked to lung and nasal sinus cancers. Lead can impair cognitive function in children and affect an adult’s cardiovascular system, even at low blood levels (WHO, 2013).
Heavy metals are also toxic to other organisms, and can bioaccumulate in animals, especially in aquatic ecosystems (Rahman, Hasegawa, & Lim, 2012). We don’t know how much airborne heavy metal is deposited in New Zealand.
We report on the concentrations of arsenic, lead, and vanadium in PM10 (PM 10 micrometres or less in diameter) from 2007-16 at Henderson – Auckland which were measured using a method directly comparable to relevant guidelines. We also report on arsenic, nickel, lead, and vanadium concentrations at 5 Auckland sites from 2005–16 that were measured using a method which cannot be directly compared to relevant guidelines but provides information on concentrations.
Arsenic is emitted when burning wood treated with copper chromium arsenic preservative (eg building project offcuts). A 2012 Auckland study showed that 17 percent of households may burn such wood (Stones-Havas, 2014).
Lead is emitted from burning wood coated with lead-based paint, by removing lead-based paint from buildings without proper safety precautions, and from industrial discharges (eg at metal smelters). In New Zealand, airborne nickel and vanadium concentrations are highest near ports and are associated with combustion exhaust from ships (Davy & Trompetter, 2018). Monitoring for lead has been limited since the fall in ambient lead concentrations after New Zealand’s petrol became lead free in 1996.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a gas formed by the incomplete combustion of fuels, particularly from motor vehicles, from burning wood and coal, and using unflued gas heaters for home heating. It also occurs naturally; for example, from wild fires.
Carbon monoxide can affect human health by interfering with the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and by aggravating heart conditions. It has a relatively long life in the atmosphere – about three months. This is due to the slow rate at which carbon monoxide oxidises, forming carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas). Carbon monoxide also has an important role in forming smog.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Total suspended particulate matter (TSP) consists of solid and liquid airborne particles that are smaller than 100 micrometres in diameter. Although, by weight, it is dominated by the larger particles it does also include the PM10 and PM2.5 sub-fractions that are responsible for most health effects, such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and some cancers. TSP can be emitted from earthworks, construction and roadworks, and the combustion of fuels such as wood and coal (eg, from home heating and industry), and petrol and diesel (from vehicles).
Natural TSP sources include sea salt, dust, pollen, smoke (from bush fires), and volcanic ash.
TSP consists of airborne particles up to 100 micrometres (μm) in diameter (PM100). TSP is small enough to be inhaled; however, larger particles (10–100μm) are filtered out in the nasal cavity and are often relatively harmless.
TSP can be emitted from earthworks, construction, and roadworks, and from combustion of fuels, such as wood and coal (eg, home heating and industry), and petrol and diesel (from vehicles). Natural sources of TSP include sea salt, dust, pollen, smoke (from bush fires), and volcanic ash. TSP also forms from reactions in the atmosphere between gases or between gases and other particles.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Particulate matter (PM) comprises solid and liquid particles in the air. PM10 particles have a diameter less than 10 micrometres. Coarse particles (2.5–10 micrometres) can be inhaled – they generally deposit in the upper airways; fine particles (smaller than 2.5 micrometres) can deposit deep in the lungs where air-gas exchange occurs. Children, the elderly, and people with existing heart or lung issues have a higher risk of health problems from exposure to PM10. These problems include decreased lung function, heart attack, and mortality.
Human-generated PM10 sources include burning wood and coal for home heating, and traffic emissions (eg combustion, tyre and brake wear, and pavement breakdown). Natural sources include sea salt, dust, pollen, and mould spores.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

An emissions inventory provides information on the amount of key air pollutants that are released into the atmosphere for a given location over a given time period. This enables us to identify sources of pollutants. By understanding the amounts that different sources contribute, air quality can be better managed and modelled.
We evaluated emissions for five key pollutants for 2015, the most-recent year that data were readily available: particulate matter (PM) less than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10), PM less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulphur dioxide (SO2), because they are the most important pollutants in New Zealand.
The grouped sources include: energy-related activities, construction dust, road dust, industrial process emissions (non-combustion), agriculture (emissions from animal housing), vegetation fires (burning agricultural residue and biomass burning), and incinerating of hazardous waste.
Only human-generated emissions were included in this emission inventory. No updated data for residential wood burning were available and was assumed to be the same as the 2013 national inventory.

Particulate matter (PM) is made up of solid and liquid particles in the air. It is grouped according to its size – PM10 is less than 10 micrometres (µm) in diameter; PM2.5 is less than 2.5 µm in diameter. Health effects from exposure to PM include lung and cardiac disease, and premature death.
Natural sources of PM include sea salt, dust (airborne soil, also called crustal material), secondary sulphate, pollen, black carbon from wild fires, and volcanic ash. There is little evidence that sea salt particles themselves are harmful (World Health Organization (WHO), 2013) although whether sea salt that has interacted with urban air pollutants is harmful is not known. PM can also be produced by human activities, such as dust from construction or unsealed roads, but this is not considered natural because it comes from human activity.
Natural sources of PM are important because although they cannot be managed they still contribute to ambient concentrations, which are subject to the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality (NESAQ). Exceedances of the NESAQ occur when the 24-hour average PM10 concentration exceeds 50 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3). There is no NESAQ for PM2.5 exposure, so we report on exceedances of the WHO 24-hour average PM2.5 concentration guideline (25 µg/m3).
We report on data from nine sites from 2005–16 and report only on sea salt for natural PM because other sources of natural PM, such as dust and sulphate, can be generated by humans as well. We were not able to separate the natural from human-generated contributions. Analysis of particle size, composition, and sources in New Zealand shows that sea salt made the largest contribution to natural PM.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.