Air Emissions Inventory for the Greater Metropolitan Region in NSW

Why do we need an air emissions inventory?

Air pollution comes from many sources, so we need to know the contribution each one makes in order to develop the best approaches for improving air quality. The last air emissions inventory for NSW was completed in 1996 and although that data has served us well until now, emissions have changed, making it necessary for a new inventory.

The major task of developing the new inventory commenced in 2004 and took nearly three years to complete. The results are now available and being used to shape the way we improve air quality in NSW.

What is the air emissions inventory?

The air emissions inventory is a detailed listing of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere by each source type during a given time period and at a specific location. The study area covers 57,330 km², which includes the greater Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong regions, known collectively as the Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR). Figure 1 (Figure107335.pdf, 210 KB, requires Acrobat Reader) shows the GMR, Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong regions. Approximately 76% of the NSW population resides in the GMR.

The inventory includes emissions from biogenic (i.e. natural) and anthropogenic (i.e. human) derived sources as outlined below:

Biogenic (e.g. bushfires, trees and windborne dust)
Commercial businesses (e.g. quarries, service stations and smash repairers)
Domestic activities (e.g. house painting, lawn mowing and wood heaters)
Industrial premises (e.g. oil refineries, power stations and steelworks)
Off-road mobile (e.g. aircraft, railways and recreational boats)
On-road mobile (e.g. buses, cars and trucks).

The inventory includes over 90 air pollutants as outlined below:

Criteria Pollutants (i.e. carbon monoxide (CO), lead, oxides of nitrogen (NO_x), PM₁₀, PM_2.5, sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs))
Metal air toxics (e.g. antimony, arsenic, beryllium, chromium and nickel)
Organic air toxics (e.g. benzene, formaldehyde, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toluene and xylenes).

Air emissions data can be presented either for the GMR, Sydney, Newcastle or Wollongong regions, or each of the 66 local government areas (LGAs) within the GMR. Emissions vary by month, weekday/weekend day and hour of the day, and can be presented on an annual, monthly, daily or hourly basis.

Where can I obtain additional information?

Detailed information about activity data, emission estimation methodologies, sources and emissions of all air pollutants included in the air emissions inventory is presented in the individual reports and workbooks. Where relevant, the Executive Summary from each of the reports is provided as a separate document. The reports are in pdf format and require Acrobat Reader to download. The workbooks are in xls format and are contained in zip archives.