Peachgrove Road

The Peachgrove Road site (80 m north of the intersection with Ruakura Road) was established in November 1997 as the main PM₁₀ monitoring station in Hamilton. A TEOM was used to monitor PM₁₀ (with gravimetric correction of the data), and meteorological data was also collected. PM_2.5, NO_x, CO and O₃ were also monitored for various times at this location. The station was removed in October 2013 due to the sale of the property, owned by Mighty River Power, for development of a Woolworths Supermarket.

From February 2003, benzene, ethyl-benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTEX) were also monitored at this site from a roadside street lighting pole on a 3 monthly basis until March 2021 using passive 3M desorption badges. Large decreases in BTEX concentrations were observed over the monitoring period and were attributed to changes in fuel specifications and improved vehicle technology. Monitoring at this site was discontinued from March 2021 after consistently low annual concentrations were confirmed, well below the relevant Ministry for the Environment thresholds and USEPA Reference concentration values.

Results of this monitoring are available from the Waikato Regional Council Technical Report Ambient air quality monitoring report for the Waikato Region – 1998 to 2020.