Otago Regional Council (ORC), the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) and other councils have partnered to investigate indoor and outdoor air quality in many towns, including Arrowtown and Milton, which have consistently ranked as the most air-polluted towns in the country.
Dr Longley is Niwa’s principal air quality scientist, one of the world’s leading specialists in home and small-town air quality, and has led many community air monitoring projects.
ORC has collected data with a large air monitors for years, and on July 3, Dr Longley’s team began a more detailed survey with several smaller air monitors positioned around Milton.
He said data showed outdoor air pollution in towns such as Milton was caused mainly by wood and coal burners, exacerbated by local climates and sheltered terrain.
Cooking and damp-mould were major sources of indoor air pollution.
A wide range of health risks were undoubtedly linked to poor air quality he said, and while a reduction in solid fuel burning would be a major step, it would have to be balanced against the health risks of inadequate heating.
Solutions included in-home air filters, taller chimneys and chimney filters, improved insulation and more affordable electricity to make non-combustion heating such as heat pumps more accessible.
"Other countries heavily subsidise homeowners to take steps to solve this problem," Dr Longley said.
"New Zealand isn’t there yet.
"We do have the Healthy Homes programme but it’s seriously under-utilised, so the steps we’re interested in this stage are educational, dispelling myths, raising awareness, starting discussions and debate."
More detailed data from Dr Longley’s Milton study will be available in September.
