Dustrak Monitoring
Armidale suffers from temperature inversion layers which sometimes traps high levels of wood smoke in the Atmosphere. It is for this reason that the Armidale Dumaresq Council is conducting air quality monitoring.
The Dustrak Aerosol Particle Monitor is a scientific piece of equipment that monitors the levels of particulates in the air. The sample is set at PM 2.5. This means we are sampling particles in the air that are 2.5 microns in size.
If you would like to receive a graph from a previous week, please contact Mick Warner by e-mailing: mwarner@armidale.nsw.gov.au or by submitting an online request below.
NOTES: The spike recorded on Sunday 15th has resulted in an average for the day of 18 micrograms per cubic metre. This is high for this time of year, and is not accounted for. Average levels across the remainder of the past week remianed low, but increased towards the end of the week, which is odd given the warm temperatures for the period (WeatherZone below).
Particulates that are 2.5microns in size are so small that they can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause problems or aggravate pre-existing conditions such as asthma, bronchitis etc. Particulates that are bigger in size can still cause upper respiratory problems such as colds, allergies and coughs.
The Dustrak Monitor is set to sample the air every 5 minutes. We average the raw data from the DusTrak monitor and calculate the daily average of particulates in the air. The desired outcome of the measure is ambient (air around us) air quality that allows for adequate protection of human health and well being.
You can find the average PM2.5 concentration levels for 2008-2009 below (in the downloadable document section)
The current advisory limit for PM2.5 concentration is 25micrograms per cubic meter.
On average, over 24 hours, any levels recorded above 25micrograms are above the National Advisory Level.
date
min to 9am
anomaly
max from 9am
anomaly
rain to 9am
°C
°C
°C
°C
mm
Mon 09/11/2009
12.8
3.8
20.2
-2.3
1
Tue 10/11/2009
3.4
-5.6
23.6
1.1
0.8
Wed 11/11/2009
5.5
-3.5
25.7
3.2
0
Thu 12/11/2009
6.4
-2.6
28.2
5.7
0
Fri 13/11/2009
11.8
2.8
23.9
1.4
2.8
Sat 14/11/2009
8.9
-0.1
25.4
2.9
0
Sun 15/11/2009
7.9
-1.1
29
7
0
| Date | PM 2.5 Daily average | Measurement | Max Allowable Concentration | Minimum | Maximum |
| 9/11/09 | 3 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 2 | 5 |
| 10/11/09 | 4 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 1 | 16 |
| 11/11/09 | 6 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 0 | 31 |
| 12/11/09 | 9 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 0 | 44 |
| 13/11/09 | 10 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 6 | 25 |
| 14/11/09 | 12 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 8 | 36 |
| 15/11/09 | 18 | µg per m3 | 25 µg | 4 | 153 |
Contact details
Development Control Unit
02 6770 3600 (ph)
council@armidale.nsw.gov.au
| Online Services |
|
Download files Average PM2.5 data for 2008-2009 (jpg 43 kb ) Summary of Dustrak Monitoring from May to September 2008 (pdf 378 kb ) 'Woodsmoke ~ Lets Clear the Air' brochure (pdf 7 Mb ) |
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