Don't Burn Waipā, the community group opposing a toxic incinerator in Te Awamutu, is releasing shocking imagery from its plume plotter tool that models the spread of toxic emissions using the actual data from the applicant's consent documents and NZ meteorological data.

“This data shows that air pollution from this incinerator will be much worse than that from any of the 80 other plants, proposed or operational, that have been modelled by Plume Plotter around the world. The extent of the plume is enormous, and it extends over residential land to the east. Waste incinerators are usually sited in industrial areas not residential neighbourhoods surrounded by schools like this proposal,” said Eoin Fitzpatrick, spokesperson for Don't Burn Waipā.

The group recently worked with Plume Plotter, an international website dedicated to modelling the spread of exhaust plumes from both existing and proposed waste incinerators. It uses software called AERMOD and local meteorological data to display the extent of exhaust plumes from either real or proposed incinerators. An animation of the proposed Waipā incinerator using 2023 weather conditions is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfnGZyVxNJg

“In the applicant's consent documents, there is a standard wind rose that is supposed to illustrate how emissions are going to be dispersed. But this is really inadequate when compared to a visualisation using the actual data and showing how far the emissions go and how concentrated they are on our community. The negative health and environmental impacts of this will be huge.”

“We intend to show the Board of Inquiry when it starts early in 2025 exactly what a year's worth of emissions will look like if this incinerator gets consented.”

The software produces an hourly snapshot of the extent of the modelled incinerator plume and a composite plot of the average extent over a year.

“New Zealand already has very poor air quality, and thousands of premature deaths from air pollution every single year. Our national air quality standards have not been kept up-to-date and do not reflect the current scientific understanding of the health impacts of exposure to toxic emissions such as heavy metals, dioxins and acid gases.”

“This tool shows just exactly what our community is facing. It cannot be overstated what a bad proposal this is. That it has gotten as far as it has shows the lack of adequate tools for local government to simply say 'no' to bad ideas.”

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