Summary

This report is an air pollution health risk assessment for the Mount Maunganui area, prepared in response to a request by Toi Te Ora Public Health. The intent is to provide information to polluters, regulatory agencies, and the affected community on the potential scale of adverse health outcomes from existing air quality with the aim of working together to reduce discharges. The approach taken has been to qualitatively and, where practicable, quantitatively describe and assess potential health risks of exposure to identified air pollutants in the Mount Maunganui area in accordance with good practice (WHO, 2014). The qualitative assessment reviews available data for the period ending 31 December 2021. The quantitative assessment uses a base year of 2019, which pre-dates potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on ambient air quality. Note, the MfE reference on page 15 has been updated to the following: “People have reported effects of odour that include nausea, headaches, retching, difficulty breathing, frustration, annoyance, depression, stress, tearfulness, reduced appetite, being woken in the night, … All of these contribute to a reduced quality of life for the individuals who are exposed … people can develop physiological effects from odour even when their exposure is much lower than that typically required to cause direct health effects. This effect is sometimes termed ‘odour worry’ and is due to effects brought on by stress or the perception that if there is a smell it must be doing physical harm. …”