Air Quality Australia: Future Research Directions

[摘要] The Commonwealth, the States, research agencies such as CSIRO, ANSTO (Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation) and Bureau of Meteorology, and universities have collaborated for many years on air quality research and policy development in Australia.In 2011 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) identified air quality as a priority national issue. The 2011 review of the Ambient Air Quality NEPM (National Environmental Protection Measure) stated:The recommendations support a shift in the focus of the NEPM and if adopted should assist in minimising risk to population health from air pollution. In determining health risk, it needs to be acknowledged that many pollutants do not have a recognised threshold for adverse health effects.In October 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified outdoor air pollution and one of its major components, particulate matter, as carcinogenic to human beings. This classification highlights the need to ensure we have the best air quality observations and modelling tools available to address future air quality and human health in Australia. It was against this background that on 7 and 8 May 2014, CSIRO, in consultation with the jurisdictions, organised and ran the symposium entitled ‘Air Quality Australia: Future Research Directions’. The symposium attracted sixty nine representatives from the States and Territories, the Commonwealth, universities, CSIRO, ANSTO and the Bureau of Meteorology.The symposium objectives were to determine the:•Current knowledge gaps with respect to sources and sinks of air pollution in Australia, and how these may be addressed;•Methodologies available to conduct health risk assessments of air pollution;•Tools and expertise required to develop a robust exposure reduction framework for pollutants of concern;•Mechanisms to develop a national coordinated framework for addressing identified knowledge gaps and building capability. The State, Territory and the Commonwealth environment agencies laid out their priorities relating to the management of air quality and science areas requiring research. Nominated areas included human health, modelling, emission inventories and measurements. Discussion sessions were held on research activities in the areas of: exposure; bushfires, smoke and health; observations and field studies; emissions inventories; national air quality data availability; modelling capabilities and tools; and resourcing our collaborative research strategy.

[发布日期] 2014-07-07 [发布机构] CSIRO

[学科分类] 地球科学(综合)