Burners blamed for air pollution
Blenheim has recorded its worst year on record for breaching air quality guidelines. And, once again, home heating is to blame.
Most towns in New Zealand are allowed to exceed their National Environmental Standards around air quality once a year - Blenheim went over the limit 11 times in 2017.
The town has managed to stick to the guidelines only twice in the past 12 years, when Land, Air, Water Aotearoa started keeping count.
The Ministry for the Environment has contacted the Marlborough District Council to ‘‘remind’’ them of their air quality requirements.
‘‘Last year, councils that recorded, or were likely to record, high pollution days over the allowed number in the standards were reminded of the importance to take appropriate measures to manage air quality within their regions. This includes the Marlborough District Council,’’ a ministry spokesperson said.
A council survey last year showed domestic home heating was responsible for 90 per cent of airborne particulate (PM10) emissions in Blenheim. Daily averages greater than 50 μg/m3 were called ‘‘exceedances’’.
Most towns were allowed one exceedance a year, to allow for nights like Guy Fawkes.
The most polluted night in Blenheim last year was June 20, when the air pollution levels recorded at the Redwoodtown Bowling Club reached 74 ug/m3. The annual average for 2017 was 19 ug/m3.
Marlborough District Council communications manager Glyn Walters said the council was undertaking a non-enforcement policy on wood burners.
But it was seeking to phase out wood burners older than 15 years in the proposed Marlborough Environment Plan, he said.
‘‘[The] council believes an educational approach is appropriate. There are significant costs in switching heating appliances, particularly for people on fixed incomes.’’
Heating Marlborough owner Peter Cairns said Blenheim and the rest of Marlborough still had some catching up to do.
‘‘We still have a lot of fires in Marlborough that are not clean-air burning. There are still a lot of old fires out there.’’
‘‘We have a misconception that an insert fire isn’t that efficient, and you’ve got to stand nearly on top if it to get heat. Well, now you’ve got fires that are very efficient in putting the heat out into the room.
Marlborough’s 2017 air quality monitoring report is scheduled to be presented at the council’s next environment committee meeting on April 26.
Gas leak
Port Marlborough was shut down for several hours, with ferries unable to enter and cordons in place, after a gas leak was discovered. Emergency services were notified around 9.45am on Saturday of a gas cylinder leaking at the Picton railway yard. Police set up a 200-metre cordon and asked people to avoid the area. Two firefighters wearing protective gear and breathing apparatus went in and found LPG leaking from a steel hatch on a 24,000 litre gas bullet on a railway wagon. They sealed it, then checked other gas bullets on the train, but no further leak was found. The Harbourmaster stopped all boat operations in the port, meaning a ferry had to wait in the Marlborough Sounds. Port operations resumed just after noon.
Drink-driving
A Blenheim woman has racked up her fifth drink-driving charge. Lisa Hodgson, 44, was driving her Honda on High St when police pulled her over about 9.45pm on March 18. The cleaner admitted she had been drinking alcohol, a police summary said, and gave a breath test result of 764 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mcg. Hodgson admitted a charge of drinkdriving at the Blenheim District Court on Monday. Judge Richard Russell convicted Hodgson and remanded her on bail to June 11 for an alcohol and drug report, and for her home to be assessed for an electronically monitored sentence.
Cross Country
The Marlborough Boys’ College cross country was held at the Taylor River on Friday. The year nine runners covered a distance of 3 kilometres while the older years all ran 5km.
Year nine students started first with Spencer Holmes and Dylan Guillemot set a blazing pace before Holmes pulled away to take the honours. Jack Flynn took out the Year 10 race. Andrew Chapman won the Year 11 race. Talented athletes George
Varney and Connor Guillemot won the Year 12 and Year 13 race respectively. Overall Awatere won the House Trophy with O¯ paoa second, Wairau third and Waihopai placed fourth.
Defending friend
A prison inmate who fractured another inmate’s eye socket says he was defending his friend. Nico James Joseph, 25, was in custody at Rimutaka Prison, in Upper Hutt, when his friend was assaulted by another inmate. Joseph intervened and punched the man 10 times to the head and torso, a police summary said. Joseph’s attack left the other man with a fractured left eye socket, flecks of blood on his eye, and bruising. Four months later, in January, Joseph was at home in Havelock, when he got into an argument with a friend and a family member. He yelled abuse at them and picked up rocks from the driveway and threw them at a woman. He then threw a piece of wood at her, hitting her on the right arm. Joseph’s friend stepped in to confront him and said something about Joseph being in a gang, so Joseph punched the man in the face. Joseph declined to comment when spoken to by police. He was serving a sentence of intensive supervision at the time, due to expire on April 19. Joseph admitted a charge of injuring with intent to injure for the prison attack, on September 14, and charges of male assaults female and assault at the Blenheim District Court on Monday. Judge Richard Russell remanded Joseph on bail to May 28 so he could try to make amends with his victims at a restorative justice meeting.