Wairau/ Awatere Resource Management Plan 7.2 Issue Managing air quality in the Wairau/Awatere area in the absence of ambient air quality information. Ambient air quality refers to the overall quality of the air and is a measure of its variation from a pristine state. As such, it is a measure of the cumulative effects of human and natural activities on air quality. Knowledge of ambient air quality is essential for an effects-based air quality management program. Setting standards without knowledge of the ambient air quality, has inherent disadvantages as resultant standards may in effect grant license to pollute. This would certainly be the case if air quality standards developed for major New Zealand cities were to be adopted for the Wairau/Awatere area. The Plan therefore sets minimum standards for industrial and business zones as a precautionary means of dealing with the immediate effects of discharge to air while maintaining the primary focus on monitoring ambient air quality. 7.3 Objectives and Policies Objective 1 To maintain or improve where appropriate existing air quality. Policy 1.1 The establishment of air quality indicators and the monitoring of the air resource, to indicate the cumulative effects of activities on ambient air quality. Policy 1.2 Adopt the following provisional indicator measures for ambient air quality: Indicator Guideline Averaging Method of Time Measurement Particulates (PM) 120 μg/m 3 24 hours AS 3580.9.6-1990 10 40 μg/m 3 Annual AS 3580.9.7-1990 Sulphur Dioxide 500 μg/m 3 10 minutes AS 3580.4.1-1990 350 μg/m 3 1 hour 125 μg/m 3 24 hours 50 μg/m 3 Annual Carbon Monoxide 30 mg/m 3 1 hour AS 2695-1984 10 mg/m 3 8 hours Ozone 150 μg/m 3 1 hour AS 3580.6.1-1990 100 μg/m 3 8 hours Nitrogen Dioxide 300 μg/m 3 1 hour AS 3580.5.1-1993 100 μg/m 3 24 hours Lead 0.5-1 μg/ m 3 3 months AS 2800-1985 Fluoride Spec ial LandUse 1.8 μg/ m 3 12 hours AS 3580.13.1-1993 1.5 μg/ m 3 24 hours AS 3580.13.2-1991 0.8 μg/ m 3 7 days 0.4 μg/ m 3 30 days 0.25 μg/m 3 90 days 7 - 2