Particulate Monitoring Information
What is particulate matter?
Particulate matter, or PM, is a term used to describe particles that are suspended in the atmosphere. Particles may be solid or liquid. Particulate matter is a generic term that is commonly used interchangeably with other terms such as smoke, soot, haze and dust.
The potential effect of particulate matter on the environment, human health and amenity depends on the size of the particles, the concentration of particulate matter in the atmosphere and rate of deposition.
Particulate matter is measured by concentration, the mass of particulate matter that is suspended per unit volume of air. It is usually reported in micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3).
Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter greater than 10 micrometres (μm) tends to be associated with amenity impacts, while particulate matter less than 10 μm is associated with health impacts. For this reason, particulate matter is sub-divided into a number of metrics based on particle size.
- PM10 refers to particles suspended in the air with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm.
- PM2.5 is a subset of PM10 and refers to particles suspended in the air with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm. PM2.5 is also called fine particulate matter.
Where does particulate matter come from?
Particulate matter can come from a variety of sources, including:
- Industrial sources
- Residential/domestic sources
- Natural sources such as salt spray, bush fires and wind erosion of bare earth
- Motor vehicles through both combustion of fuel and wheel and brake generated dust
What are the air quality standards for particulate matter?
The Environment Protection Act 1993 (EP Act) provides for the management of the air environment in South Australia. The Environment Protection (Air Quality) Policy (Air EPP) provides a framework under the EP Act for the regulation of air pollution in South Australia and includes air quality criteria. Adelaide Brighton Cement assesses compliance with the following South Australian EPA air quality standards for particulate matter:
- 24-hour average PM10 should be below 50 μg/m3
- 24-hour average PM2.5 should be below 25 μg/m3
What precautions should I take when concentrations increase?
The SA EPA air quality categories provide general advice for reducing exposure when particulate levels increase. These are based on shorter-term (1-hour average) concentrations than the air quality standards. People in sensitive groups may need to act earlier than the general population.
| Category | Sensitive groups | Everyone else |
|---|---|---|
| Good | No change. | No change. |
| Fair | Keep track of outdoor conditions and monitor your health. | No change, but keep track of outdoor conditions. |
| Poor | Consider reducing outdoor physical activity, closing windows and doors, using a HEPA air cleaner, wearing a mask, or moving to cleaner air. | Keep track of outdoor conditions and consider reducing exposure. |
| Very Poor | Take action to reduce exposure, follow your treatment plan, and contact your doctor if concerned. Call 000 for severe breathing trouble. | Consider reducing outdoor physical activity, closing windows and doors, using a HEPA air cleaner, wearing a mask, or moving to cleaner air if safe. |
| Extremely Poor | Take action to reduce exposure, monitor symptoms, follow your treatment plan, and contact your doctor if concerned. Call 000 for severe breathing trouble. | Stay indoors with windows and doors closed, use a HEPA air cleaner, and wear a mask if needed. Contact your doctor if concerned; call 000 for severe breathing trouble. |
Sensitive groups include people with heart or lung conditions, people over 65, infants and young children, pregnant women and people with diabetes. Advice is based on the SA EPA Air Quality Categories factsheet.
What is a wind/PM10 rose and what does it mean?
A wind rose shows the distribution of wind speeds and wind directions at a particular location. The bars on the wind rose project from the centre in the direction that the wind is blowing from. The rings show the proportion of winds from that direction.
A PM10 rose presents the distribution of PM10 concentrations by the direction of the wind when the PM10 was measured. Like the wind rose, PM10 rose bars point in the direction the wind was blowing from. Wind speed and wind direction is measured at the same location as the particulate monitors.
Example wind rose
This wind rose shows the strength of measured winds by colour from blue (weakest) to orange (strongest). The strongest winds measured during the monitoring period were from the south and south-southeast, ranging from 2 to 5 m/s. All winds measured from the east were between 1 and 2 m/s, shown by a bar of a single blue colour. Hover over each bar segment to see the direction the wind was blowing from and the proportion (%) of winds from that direction with a particular speed.
Example PM10 rose
This PM10 rose shows the concentration categories measured while winds were from each direction. Higher concentration categories are coloured more strongly, making it easier to see which wind directions coincided with elevated PM10 readings. Hover over each bar segment to see the direction the wind was blowing from and the proportion (%) of hourly PM10 readings in that concentration category.