SYDNEY'S air quality is only going to get worse, with a state government report signalling that residents will suffer from rising levels of ozone, a primary cause of respiratory diseases such as asthma.

The problem will be worst in the region stretching from Richmond in the north to Macarthur in the south and centred on Bringelly - identified as major growth areas for the city - where ozone is already found at higher levels than the rest of Sydney.

The report, compiled by the Department of the Environment, Climate Change and Water, argues that unless the government takes additional measures to reduce emissions, population growth will boost petrochemical smog, which could ''significantly worsen Sydney's air quality, and potentially expose more people to ozone concentrations'' above national air quality standards.

Even though vehicle emission standards have been tightened, any gains are being outrun by population growth, increased car use and the growing popularity of heavier cars, the report noted. Car emissions are the single largest contributor to ozone levels.

Ozone is a prime component of smog, which is caused by the reaction of auto and industrial emissions with sunlight. Air with high doses of ozone causes eye, nose and throat irritations, along with respiratory symptoms and decreases in lung function.

''The decrease in emissions is predicted to be offset by the increase in population-related emissions'', noted the report, which projected Sydney's air quality to 2026.

Overall, there has been no improvement in ozone levels across Sydney since 1998, it noted. Ozone is the third most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane.

"The admission by the NSW government that ozone levels haven't improved and will worsen over the next 15 years is very bad news for people with asthma and a tacit admission that its air pollution policies are failing," said the chief executive of the Asthma Foundation NSW, Greg Smith.

''Two new power stations in the Blue Mountains and Campbelltown, both areas with a high prevalence of asthma, will only add to the problem.''

The Total Environment Centre executive director, Jeff Angel, said: ''It's a public health emergency - predicting the air quality will get worse and not [doing] anything about it.''

The lack of progress indicates the state government's strategy to improve air quality has failed, Opposition environment spokeswoman Cathy Cusack said.

''NSW has the world's only clean air strategy that sees rising ozone levels locked in and predicted to increase in the future.''

Without further technological improvements to cut car and truck emissions, ''it is a treadmill,'' Professor Chris Winder from the University of NSW school of science said. ''We pay lip service to using public transport, but unless people abandon cars, or unless technology changes, we're stuck with it.''

A spokesman for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Frank Sartor, said part of the solution to the ozone problem is a need for national standards for small engines such as lawnmowers and leaf blowers, and product standards for adhesives, solvents and paints.

However, it is understood that progress towards national standards is slow because petrochemical smog is not as important an issue in other states.

 

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/ozone-levels-to-worsen-over-next-15-years-20100308-psuy.html