The dirty truth:
Air pollution is a
class and climate
issue in Australia.
90% of the burden
of air pollution
falls on low to
middle income
households

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

Contents
Executive summary..................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Our analysis........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
The correlation between income and air pollution ........................................................................... 7
‘Optimised for profitability, not public health’ .......................................................................................... 9
What causes Australia’s air pollution? ............................................................................................................... 10
Where does Australia’s air pollution occur? ..............................................................................................14
‘There was absolutely no communication about air pollution’ ....................................... 16
Recommendations .................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix 1: Which pollutant is which and how they harm our health ................ 20

The most polluted
urban areas are often
located on the fringes
of major population
centres

1

 Australian Conservation Foundation

Executive summary

–– Wealthier Australians experience a fraction
of annual national emissions. Only 0.1% of
polluting facilities are in postcodes home to
the top 20% of household incomes (average
household income >$3,000 per week).

Air pollution is seriously damaging the health of
Australians across the country. In Melbourne's
west, children breathe in the exhaust from
trucks. In the Hunter Region of NSW, families
are affected by coal dust. In Morwell, Victoria,
people have inhaled fumes from a fire in a
major coal mine. In these communities, and
others, the toxic toll of pollution falls upon
those with the least resources to do something
about it. This research report shows that air
pollution in Australia is both a class and a
climate issue. 90% of the burden of air pollution
falls upon low to middle income households,
yet only 0.1% of air pollution falls on the highest
income households.

•  91% of all air pollution in Australia comes
from three major industry classes: mining,
manufacturing and utilities (electricity, gas,
water and waste). These industries are all
deeply embedded in existing fossil fuel supply
chains and have large carbon footprints.

•  Of the five most polluted postal areas in
Australia (Newman, Latrobe Valley, Mount
Isa, Collie, Hunter Region), coal-fired power
stations are the largest emitters in three, while
mining operations create the most emissions
in the other two.

Air pollution is killing thousands of Australians. An
estimated 3,000 Australians die prematurely from
urban air pollution every year.1 This is more than
two-and-a-half times the number of deaths on our
roads.2 Air pollution results in higher rates of illness
such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis
and other chronic pulmonary diseases.3 Yet, the
Australian government has no strategy to effectively
address the cause of this health crisis.

•  People living in Australia’s largest cities are
generally exposed to higher concentrations of
air pollution. This is due to the geographical
disbursement of polluting facilities around major
urban hubs and the prevalence of other major
sources of air pollution such as vehicle emissions.
The most polluted urban areas are often located
on the fringes of major population centres.
Postcodes including the Port of Brisbane, Altona
in Melbourne, Botany Bay in Sydney and Port
Adelaide are all located within the outer urban
suburbs of their respective cities.

This report focuses on who is bearing the
brunt of the impacts of air pollution in Australia.
It compares current levels of air pollution with
the socio-economic distribution of the population.
The analysis overlaid emissions data from National
Pollutant Inventory (NPI) 4 with weekly household
income distribution data from the Australia Bureau
of Statistics (ABS).5 It shows middle to low income
households are bearing the brunt of air pollution in
this country.

•  Queensland and Western Australia have a
disproportionate number of facilities relative to
their share of the Australian population.
Despite the impact of air pollution on Australians’
health, and unlike most other countries, Australia
has no binding national air pollution standards.
Instead, we have non-binding reporting standards
that are negotiated between state, territory and
federal governments. Harmful impacts can occur
from exposure at levels even below our existing
air quality standards.6 National standards to drive
down pollution would ensure a consistent approach
applies in every community across Australia.

This report shows:
•  Tens of thousands of lower income families face
a disproportionate exposure to air pollution
compared to wealthier Australians:
–– 90% of polluting facilities are in low to middle
income suburbs (average household income:
$0 to $2,000 per week).

Air pollutants also exacerbate climate change and,
as a result of worsening climate damage, the frequency
and impact of extreme air pollution events is increasing.

–– Low-middle income households (income:
$702 – $1,000 per week) host nearly half of all
polluting facilities.
2

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

burning of harmful fossil fuels. Transitioning to
renewable energy and away from fossil fuel power
generation will provide communities with longterm economic opportunities and help to reduce
the pollution that is causing climate damage. It
will also improve the health and wellbeing of these
communities by removing the largest sources of
toxic air pollution.

Tightening Australia’s air pollution standards and
curbing toxic emissions would enhance national efforts
to drive down greenhouse gas emissions.
As a society, we cannot separate the economic
gains derived from these facilities from the social
cost of the air pollution they generate.
This research adds urgency to the call for
governments to develop credible energy transition
plans for communities affected by the mining and

Recommendations
3.  Require states and territories to
comply with national standards

All Australians rely on having clean, safe
air to breathe. The Australian government
has a responsibility to safeguard the health
of all Australians and prevent air pollution
from damaging and killing people. To deliver
this basic but vital need, the Australian
government must:

Develop implementation plans and criteria for
the regulation of polluting activities to make
sure the new standards are met.

4. Develop an environmental justice
framework

1.  Establish new laws and a National
Sustainability Commission to set
national air pollution standards

In conjunction with state and territory
governments, ensure that disadvantaged
communities do not continue to bear a higher
burden of pollution than other Australians.
An environmental justice framework should
include requirements on decision-makers to
consider environmental justice implications
of their decisions, to take action to reduce
pollution in disadvantaged areas, and to
not approve any new polluting facilities in
low-socioeconomic areas.

Establish an independent commission to
introduce ambient air standards and stack
emissions standards as part of a new national
environment act for highly polluting industries,
such as the coal-fired power sector, to ensure a
consistent national approach applies to every
community across Australia.

2. Establish a national Environment
Protection Authority (EPA) to enforce
the law
Establish an independent Commonwealth
regulator, a national EPA, responsible for
monitoring, implementing and enforcing
national air pollution standards.
3

 Australian Conservation Foundation

Figure 1
Top five postcodes for NPI emissions

2

6753 Newman

4825 Mt Isa

1

206,829,791 kg
of sulfur dioxide per year

179,131,195 kg of PM10 per year
Mining Area C (BHP Billiton Iron
Ore Pty Ltd) and Wheelarra Hill–
Jimblebar (BHP Billiton Iron Ore
Pty Ltd) responsible for 20.74%
and 20.35% of emissions in
this postcode

Mount Isa Mines (Mount Isa
Mines Ltd) responsible for
90.12% of emissions
in this postcode
Mt Isa

Newman

5

6225 Collie

4

3844 Latrobe Valley

67,655,051 kg
of sulfur dioxide and
22,304,516 kg of oxides
of nitrogen per year

74,536,309 kg
of sulfur dioxide and
35,424,947 kg of oxides
of nitrogen per year

Muja Power Station (Electricity
Generation and Retail
Corporation) responsible
for 66.77% of emissions
in this postcode

AGL Loy Yang (AGL Loy
Yang Pty Ltd) responsible
for 66.77% of emissions
in this postcode

Collie

Traralgon

4

2333 Hunter Region
83,764,985 kg
of sulfur dioxide and
56,181,893 kg of oxides
of nitrogen per year
Bayswater Power Station
(AGL Macquarie Pty Ltd)
responsible for 51.91%
of emissions in this
postcode
Muswellbrook

3

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

Figure 2
Postcode with highest NPI emissions in each Australian capital city

City

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Sydney
NSW

Melbourne
VIC

Brisbane
QLD

Perth
WA

Adelaide
SA

Hobart
TAS

Canberra
ACT

Darwin
NT

Postal area
and major
suburbs

Federal
electorate

Largest
pollutants

Botany Bay
(2019)
Botany
Banksmeadow

Kingsford Smith
Hon Matt
Thistlethwaite MP

NOX ~ 58%

Altona (3018)
Altona
Seaholme

Largest facility

Refinery

Qenos Olefines and Site
Utilities Plants (QENOS
Pty Ltd) responsible for
82% of emissions in this
postcode

Refinery

Altona Refinery (Mobil
Refining Australia Pty
Ltd) responsible for
86% of emissions in
this postcode

Refinery

Caltex Refineries
(Caltex Refineries (Qld)
Pty Ltd) responsible for
97% of emissions in this
postcode

Refinery

BP Refinery (BP
Refinery (Kwinana) Pty
Ltd) responsible for
78% of emissions in this
postcode

Cement Plant

Birkenhead Plant
(Adelaide Brighton
Cement Ltd) responsible
for 95% of emissions in
this postcode

Metal Smelter

Nyrstar Hobart (Nyrstar
Hobart Pty Ltd)
responsible for 100%
of emissions in this
postcode

Quarry

Boral Mugga Lane
Quarry (Boral Resources
Pty Ltd) responsible for
64% of emissions in this
postcode

SO2 ~ 40%

Gellibrand
Tim Watts MP

NOX ~ 37%
SO2 ~ 58%

Port of Brisbane
(3018)
Lindum
Lytton
Wynnum

Bonner
Ross Vasta MP

Parmelia (6167)
Orelia
Kwinana Beach
Parmelia

Brand
Madeleine King MP

SO 2 ~ 80%

Port Adelaide
(5015)
Ethelton
Glanville
Birkenhead

Port Adelaide
Hon Mark Butler
MP

Moonah (7009)
Lutana
Derwent Park
Moonah

Denison
Andrew Wilkie MP

Fyshwick (2609)
Pialligo
Symonston
Fyshwick

Canberra
Gai Brodtmann MP

Malak (0812)
Anula
Marrara
Leanyer

Solomon
Luke Gosling
OAM MP

SO 2 ~ 69%

NOX ~ 95%

NOX ~ 40%
SO2 ~ 57%

PM 10 ~ 59%

NOX ~ 86%

Waste
Management

5

Shoal Bay Waste
Management Facility
(Darwin City Council)
responsible for 78% of
emissions in this postcode

 Our analysis
were then categorised by income level in line
with the household income percentiles from the
‘ABS Household Income and Wealth Australia:
Summary of Results 2015-16.’ 7 This report utilised
these categories with a naming structure detailed
in Figure 3. By mapping the location of NPI
facilities against Australian postcodes, the report
was able to draw comparisons between household
income and pollution levels within each postcode.

This report examined emissions data from
the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) and
weekly household income data from the
Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
NPI data includes the annual emission volumes
of major air pollutants produced by each facility
as well as their geographic location. The ABS
provides the average weekly household income
for every Australian postcode. The postcodes

6

 Left. Oil refinery and Botany Bay National Park,
Sydney, NSW. Photo. Andrew Holt/Alamy

The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

The correlation between
income and air pollution
The burden of air pollution rests
disproportionately on the shoulders of
poorer Australians.

Low-middle income earners in Australia host
nearly half of all polluting facilities recorded in
the NPI.

Ninety per cent of polluting facilities reported
in the NPI are in Australian postcodes with an
average weekly income in the bottom 60% of all
Australian households. However, those living in
the most prosperous areas of our nation experience
a fraction of annual national emissions. Only 0.1%
of polluting facilities are located in postcodes in the
top 20% of household incomes. Households in the
bottom 20% also have a low exposure to polluting
facilities – this is primarily due to the tendency for
households which earn less than $701 a week to be
located in rural and remote areas.

The geographic distribution of polluting
facilities manifests in negative health outcomes
in communities already experiencing social or
economic disadvantage. Individuals in these
communities are more vulnerable to the effects of
air pollution, particularly the very young, elderly
and those with pre-existing health problems.
Current air pollution laws do not adequately
protect these communities.
In February 2018, Doctors for the Environment
Australia released research linking abnormally
low birth weights in the Latrobe Valley to the
air emissions produced by the region’s three
large brown coal-fired power stations.8 A similar
pattern is occurring in vulnerable communities
all across Australia.

Figure 3
Number of polluting facilities across Australian postal areas
distributed into quintiles based on weekly household income
Income distribution
(percentile)

0–20

20–40

40–60

60–80

80–100

Low income

Low-middle
income

Middle
income

Middle-high
income

High income

$0–$701

$702–$1,258

$1,259–$2,000

$2,001–$3,097

$3,097+

Number of facilities

48

934

913

211

2

2,108

% of total facilities

2.3%

44.3%

43.3%

10.0%

0.1%

100%

Name

Weekly household income

7

ALL

 Australian Conservation Foundation

Figure 4
Distribution of NPI facilities across ABS household income quintiles

Equal distribution
Distribution of facilities

Low
1,000
900
800
700
600
500
400

High

Low-middle

300
200
100
0

Middle-high

Middle

Do polluting facilities end up in disadvantaged
neighbourhoods because it is cheaper to buy land
there, or do disadvantaged families move into areas
around polluting facilities because it is the only
place they can afford to live? It is likely both are
true to an extent. The Tullamarine toxic waste dump
in Melbourne’s northwest is a good example.12
Regardless of what was there first, marginalised
populations are forced to adapt to higher levels of
toxic air pollution. Disadvantaged communities
experience a greater risk of developing ‘diseases of
adaptation’ – diseases and chronic conditions from
living with bad air, polluted water and stress.13

All too often, the most vulnerable bear the
highest burden of air pollution, which affects
Australians across the country. In Melbourne's
west, children breathe in the exhaust from trucks.
In the Hunter Region of NSW, families are affected
by coal dust. In Morwell, Victoria, people have
inhaled fumes from a fire in a major coal mine.
Studies of environmental justice have long revealed
that poor and powerless communities bear the
burden of pollution.9 These communities often
live closest to sources of pollution, such as power
plants, industrial installations and heavy traffic.
In Australia, hazardous dumps, rubbish tips and
polluting facilities end up in these neighbourhoods
far more often than in affluent suburbs.10

In Australia, low-income and minority
communities have had few advocates at
the national level. Meanwhile, lobby groups
representing fossil fuel industries hold significant
political power and influence, frequently topping
lists of highest political expenditure by third-party
groups in Australia.14 Australia is one of the largest
producers of climate pollution per capita in the
world.15 Environmentally hazardous industries
such as waste landfills, manufacturing facilities,
resource extraction and mining sites – all of which
are non-residential activities – pose extreme risks
to health and are most prevalent in the low-middle
and middle-income communities of Australia.

Communities in Melbourne’s western suburbs
often feel they are used as the dumping ground for
the rest of Melbourne. While rubbish tips in other
parts of Australia’s fastest-growing city are being
progressively closed, the huge landfills in Werribee,
Ravenhall and Wollert keep getting bigger and
bigger, filled in part by rubbish being trucked
across the Westgate Bridge from the more affluent
eastern suburbs.11

8

 Below. Dr Ben Ewald.

The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

‘Optimised for profitability,
not public health’
‘The pollution from these power stations
travels across the Hunter Valley, but it also
travels as far as Sydney,’ says Newcastle GP
and public health academic Dr Ben Ewald.
‘Even though those power stations are 80 or 100
or 160 kilometres away from Sydney, the pollution
travels long distances.’
Dr Ewald says some of the monitoring stations in
the Hunter Valley have recorded annual averages
for fine particles that are higher than the national
standard. ‘Beresfield, near Newcastle, has quite
often been over the eight micrograms per cubic
metre limit. Muswellbrook, in the Upper Hunter,
has been over eight micrograms per cubic metre
ever since monitoring commenced.

Dr Ewald says NSW’s load-based licencing system
– which charges fees in proportion to the amount
of pollution produced – could be an effective
polluter-pays scheme, but the fees are set so low
the companies find it cheaper to pay the fee than to
clean up their act.

‘The people up in Muswellbrook have a problem
with SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) pollution. It doesn’t go
past the Australian standard, but the Australian
standard is very out of date. It’s ten times higher
than what the World Health Organisation thinks
should be the standard. If you use the WHO
standard, Muswellbrook has already had 20 or
30 exceedances of that daily standard in 2017.

‘If those fees were brought up to a higher level, where
it gave companies a real finance incentive to clean up
production, I’m sure there’s a lot they could do.

‘Some of the health statistics show high rates
of asthma (in Muswellbrook). I think the sulfur
dioxide would be contributing towards that.

‘I’ve heard one of the power station engineers from
Muswellbrook say the first thing they do when the
sulfur dioxide at the chimney exceeds the permitted
amount is dilute it by blowing a whole lot of air up
the chimney. Well of course that doesn’t reduce the
amount of pollution, it just adds some air to the mix.
The next thing they do is they have a special supply
of low sulfur coal that they can throw in the boilers
if they have to bring down the pollution level. That
obviously begs the question, if you can burn low
sulfur coal sometimes, why can’t they burn low
sulfur coal all the time? It would be slightly more
expensive for them, but I think the health of the
community is worth it.’

‘I think there’s a very strong argument that people
in the town of Muswellbrook, which hosts large
coal mines and coal-fired electricity production
industries, should be protected. Especially children
in those communities. They're not making money
out of coal. They should be protected from these
air pollution exposures that we know are bad for
their health.
‘The way these coal-fired power stations and mines
are managed is not optimised to look after public
health. They are optimised for profitability. If these
companies running these facilities had an incentive
to run them more cleanly, they could do so.’

Case study courtesy Environmental
Justice Australia:
www.envirojustice.org.au/powerstations
Interview date 2017

9

 Australian Conservation Foundation

What causes Australia’s
air pollution?
The vast majority of polluting facilities
captured by the NPI come from three major
industry classifications:

For example, manufacturing facilities in the NPI
include facilities engaged in activities such as:

•  Manufacturing

•  basic chemical and chemical product
manufacturing; and

•  petroleum and coal product manufacturing;

•  Mining

•  non-metallic mineral (such as sand, gravel,
stone etc.) product manufacturing, and more.

•  Electricity, gas, water and waste services.
These three industries account for 91% of all
facilities recorded in the NPI.

Electricity, gas, water and waste services include
facilities engaged in fossil fuel power generation
such as coal-fired power stations and associated
infrastructure. Facilities in these major industries
are also predominantly located in lower socioeconomic areas.

While the mining industry has the most explicit
linkages to the extraction and burning of fossil
fuels, all three industry classifications contain
facilities with significant use of fossil fuels.
Figure 5
Breakdown of industry sectors in the NPI data
0

100

200

Manufacturing
Mining
Electricity, gas, water and waste services
Transport, postal and warehousing
Healthcare and social assistance
Other services
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Wholesale trade
Education and training
Professional, scientific and technical services

10

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

Electricity, gas, water and
waste services

Manufacturing
The NPI presents emissions data from 811
facilities categorised as 'manufacturing'. These
facilities are primarily located in urban and
outer metropolitan areas. Low-middle income
postcodes – with Australian households in the
20-40 percentile of weekly income – host nearly
half of all manufacturing facilities recorded in the
NPI. Around 96% of all manufacturing facilities
are located in the bottom 60% of incomes –
predominately Australian families living in outersuburban areas of our major cities.

There are 526 facilities in the NPI classified as
electricity, gas, water and waste services. This
includes facilities generating electricity from fossil
fuels such as coal-fired power stations. These
facilities are predominantly located in low-middle
and middle-income areas. Approximately 42% are
in low-middle income areas and 45% are located in
middle-income areas.
Electricity, gas, water and waste services include
facilities engaged in fossil fuel energy production
such as coal-fired power stations, and as a result
they are highly polluting – three of the top five most
polluting NPI facilities are coal-fired power stations.

Manufacturing facilities are often more
inconspicuous than other facilities easily
associated with air pollution such as power
generation facilities and mining activity.
Nonetheless, their impact is pervasive as many
manufacturing facilities operate in regions with
higher population densities — exposing more
Australians to their pollution.

Mining
The NPI captures a total of 575 facilities
engaged in mining activities. These facilities are
predominantly located in low-middle and middleincome areas. Eighty-three per cent of the mining
facilities are in postcodes in the bottom 60% of
household income.

Manufacturing
facilities operate in
regions with higher
population densities
— exposing more
Australians to their
pollution

Mining facilities are highly polluting – the highest
polluting facility in the NPI is Mount Isa Mines,
with almost double the air emissions of the next
highest facility.

11

 Figure 6
Distribution of income groups across industry classifications
0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Manufacturing

Mining

Electricity, gas, water and waste services

Low income

Low-middle income

Middle income

The number of facilities in high income areas were less than 1% of the distribution
in each industry classification. As a result, the data was not visible in Figure 6.

12

Middle-high income

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

Figure 7
Profile of top five most polluting facilities

Facility

1

2

3

4

5

Mount Isa Mines

Bayswater
Power Station

AGL Loy Yang

Nyrstar Port Pirie

Stanwell
Power Station

Owner

Type

Glencore

Copper, lead, zinc
and silver mining

AGL

AGL

Nyrstar

Stanwell
Energy

Location

Coal-fired
power station

Coal-fired
power station

Metal smelting
and refining

Coal-fired
power station

13

Mt Isa, QLD

Hunter Valley,
NSW

Latrobe Valley,
VIC

Port Pirie, SA

Rockhampton,
QLD

Emissions (kg)

Mercury

209

NOX

3,794,242

PM2.5

66,115

PM10

1,297,678

SO2

189,990,964

Total

195,149,208

Mercury

73

NOX

32,214,852

PM2.5

293,713

PM10

892,658

SO2

50,270,895

Total

83,672,192

Mercury

408

NOX

21,347,118

PM2.5

511,511

PM10

4,097,618

SO2

51,741,379

Total

77,698,034

Mercury

638

NOX

1,471,174

PM2.5

31,402

PM10

199,867

SO2

58,225,538

Total

59,928,619

Mercury

101

NOX

18,206,790

PM2.5

287,504

PM10

870,600

SO2

35,500,005

Total

54,865,000

 Australian Conservation Foundation

Where does Australia’s
air pollution occur?
Not only are these areas home to a disproportionate
number of facilities relative to their population, but
the facilities themselves emit some of the highest
volumes of toxic pollutants of any facility captured
by the NPI. This is reflected in Figure 1, which
shows the five Australian postal areas that contain
the most air pollutants as measured by the NPI.
All five postal areas are rural, and most of the air
pollution within these areas is either generated by
coal-fired power stations or mining projects.

The location of facilities recorded in
the National Pollution Inventory (NPI)
broadly map to the general population
distribution of Australia. Like the majority
of Australians, most of our polluting
facilities are dispersed along the east
coast of Australia, centred around major
urban centres and regional hubs.
People living in Australia’s largest cities are
generally exposed to higher concentrations of
air pollution. This is due to the geographical
disbursement of polluting facilities around major
urban hubs and the prevalence of other sources of
air pollution not considered in this report, such as
vehicle emissions. The most polluted urban areas
are often located on the fringes of major population
centres. Postcodes including the Port of Brisbane,
Altona in Melbourne, Botany Bay in Sydney and
Port Adelaide are all located within the outer urban
suburbs of their respective cities. These postcodes
are home to facilities engaged in highly polluting
heavy industries such as smelting and refining,
chemical manufacturing and fossil fuel electricity
generation. It is also important to note that in
several cases, the most polluted postcodes within
Australian capital cities also contain that city’s
major airport. This is the case in Canberra, Darwin,
Botany Bay in Sydney, and the Port of Brisbane.

In general, facilities are distributed across the
states in line with population, although there
are some notable exceptions. Queensland and
Western Australia have a disproportionate
number of polluting facilities relative to their
share of the Australian population. Driven by the
same industrial trends, Western Australia and
Queensland both have large, mature fossil fuel
extraction and power generation industries. This
has driven up the total number of NPI facilities
and increased the total volume of toxic pollutants
emitted in each state.

Queensland and
Western Australia
have a disproportionate
number of polluting
facilities relative to their
share of the Australian
population

However, certain rural communities in Australia
also suffer disproportionately high impacts of
toxic pollution due to their historical proximity to
industries with large numbers of highly polluting
facilities. This is particularly the case in regions
home to coal-fired power generation and mining
such as the Hunter Valley in NSW, Mt Isa in the
Queensland Gulf Country, the Latrobe Valley in
Victoria, Port Pirie on South Australia’s Spencer
Gulf and the Pilbara in Western Australia.

14

 Below. Loy Yang coal-fired power station,
Latrobe Valley, VIC. Photo. Takver/Flickr

The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

1,800

9,000,000

1,600

8,000,000

1,400

7,000,000

1,200

6,000,000

1,000

5,000,000

800

4,000,000

600

3,000,000

400

2,000,000

200

1,000,000

0

0
QLD

NSW

WA

VIC

SA

TAS

NT

Number of facilities

15

ACT
State population

Population

No. of facilities

Figure 8
Number of NPI facilities compared to total population across Australian states and territories

 Below. Graeme Wilson. Photo. Bronya Lipski

‘There was absolutely no communication
about air pollution’
Graeme Wilson lives at Delburn, about 15km
south of the recently closed Hazelwood coalfired power station in the Latrobe Valley.
He has seen an improvement in his family’s
health since Hazelwood closed in April 2017.
‘Up until then, myself, my wife and the kids, before
they left home, used to get respiratory problems
and runny noses on a regular basis. Occasionally
when there was a north wind, you’d wake up with
a sore throat.
‘I have personally noticed an improvement in
my health since the closure of Hazelwood. My
sinuses have improved, I have had no respiratory
problems or runny noses at all this season. I have
felt much healthier.

‘I reported this to the authorities who had set up
the Government Health Services in Morwell, but
there was never any follow up. I tried reporting it
to the EPA. They also did no follow up.

‘We are located on the first ridge that surrounds
the valley. Most of the time we enjoy clean air, with
winds usually blowing from the south-east, or
north-west.

‘There was absolutely no communication about
air pollution. The EPA didn’t monitor out our way.
They wanted to pretend it was just around Morwell.

‘On occasions when there is a north wind, it is
usually hot, the power stations are at full power and
we often used to get soot fallout, smoke haze from
the valley. This was evidenced by the buildup of
black, sooty muck in our roof gutters. This seems
to have all but disappeared since Hazelwood
closed down.’

‘We’re on tank water. Our roof was covered in ash.
The surface of the water was covered in an oily
film. Whether it’s toxic or not, I don’t know. We
did manage to get the Health Officer from the Baw
Baw Shire to test our water but she only tested
two samples taken from kitchen taps. This water is
pumped from the bottom of the tank. What was on
the surface?

The fall-out reached extreme levels when the
Hazelwood mine caught fire and burned for 45
days straight in 2014.
‘On the days when the wind was blowing from the
north, the smoke and ash was blown towards our
area. It did not really dissipate and disappear as
the EPA would like people to believe. Our house
and cars were covered in ash and a fine brown
sulfur dust.

‘I often wonder what chemicals were deposited
on surrounding potato crops and whether the
ash contained carcinogens from the mine fire that
may have entered the food chain. I have been told
anecdotally that local soils are more alkaline than
they were before the mine fire.’

‘The brown dust was clearly in the air inside our
house and we had no option but to breathe it. Every
horizontal surface in the house was covered in dust.

Case study courtesy Environmental
Justice Australia:
www.envirojustice.org.au/powerstations
Interview date 2017

16

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

‘On occasions when
there is a north wind,
it is usually hot, the
power stations are
at full power and
we often used to
get soot fallout,
smoke haze from
the valley’

17

 Right. Kooragang Island, Newcastle, NSW. Photo. Ben Jeayes/Shutterstock

Recommendations
They must apply to all Australians, wherever
they live. The current practice of exempting
smaller communities and those that happen to
be close to point sources must be discontinued.

The evidence shows our current laws are
failing and the process for developing new
national reporting standards is moving too
slowly. Australia needs a new generation of
national environment laws and institutions to
address national problems like air pollution.

2. Establish a national Environment
Protection Authority (EPA) to enforce
the law

Air pollution causes thousands of deaths and severe
health problems every year. It is affecting communities
across Australia, disproportionately harming poorer,
more vulnerable Australians. It demands a national
solution that is driven by a coordinated response by
the Commonwealth government.

A national Environment Protection
Authority (EPA) should be established as a
Commonwealth government agency with
responsibility for implementing, monitoring
and enforcing national standards. The EPA
would make sure states and territories comply
with the standards and investigate community
complaints of breaches.

Air pollution is a by-product of an economic
system that is failing our planet and people. The
raw economic gains generated by highly polluting
facilities cannot be separated from the serious
environmental and social harms that are created
as a result. Our governments must do better to
promote a healthier economy that values the
health of people and the planet. With 3,000 people
in Australia dying each year from air pollutionrelated illness, governments cannot afford to wait
any longer to take decisive action.16

3.  State and territory action
The State and Territory level is the most
appropriate level for on-ground implementation
of air pollution laws. Governments at state and
territory level have experience in pollution
control and have specific responsibility for the
majority of regulatory approvals that affect air
pollution. Although the Commonwealth has
power to directly regulate companies, it would
be preferable for the Commonwealth to be
responsible for national level standards, which
the states and territories would then implement.
The states and territories would need to develop
implementation plans and develop criteria for
the regulation of polluting activities to ensure
the standards are met.

1.  Establish new laws and a National
Sustainability Commission to set
national air pollution standards
Australia has no binding national air pollution
standards. Instead we have non-binding
reporting standards that are negotiated between
state, territory and federal governments. To
ensure a consistent national approach that
applies to every community across Australia,
we need to set national standards as part of
a new National Environment Act to drive
down pollution – binding national ambient
air standards and national stack emissions
standards for highly polluting industries, such
as coal-fired power stations. Standards should
be set by an independent commission at levels
that benefit all Australians.

4. Develop an environmental justice
framework for pollution impacts
In conjunction with state and territory
governments, Australia needs to develop
an environmental justice framework so
disadvantaged communities do not continue
to bear a higher burden of pollution than other
Australians. This should include requirements
on decision-makers to consider environmental
justice implications of their decisions, take actions
to reduce pollution in disadvantaged areas, and
not approve any new polluting facilities in lowsocioeconomic areas that will add to the toxic
burden those communities face.

The purpose of national standards should
be to achieve continuous improvement in air
quality across the country. Maximum permitted
concentrations and stack emissions of each
major pollutant must meet global best practice
and World Health Organization guidelines.

18

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

References
  Begg, Vos, Barker, Stevenson, Stanley & Lopez, The burden of
disease and injury in Australia 2003, Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare, Cat. no. PHE 82, Canberra (2007), p234, available at
http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442467990

1

9

 D
  umping in Dixie (Robert D. Bullard) Income, inequality and
pollution: a reassessment of the environmental Kuznets Curve
(Mariano Torras, James K. Boyce)

10

  https://envirojustice.org.au/sites/default/files/files/Submissions%20
and%20reports/environmental_justice_discussion_paper.pdf

11

  https://www.envirojustice.org.au/western-suburbs-residents-feelignored-and-brushed-off-by-victorias-epa/

12

   https://data.gov.au/dataset/npi

   https://envirojustice.org.au/sites/default/files/files/Submissions%20
and%20reports/environmental_justice_discussion_paper.pdf

13

 C
  ensus 2016 DataPacks, General Community Profile, Postal Area
Geography, Median weekly household income, link:
https://datapacks.censusdata.abs.gov.au/datapacks/

  Doctors for the Environment Australia, Submission no 4 to Senate
Community Affairs References Committee, Parliament of Australia,
Impacts on Health of Air Quality in Australia, 2013, pp8,11

14

  https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/01/coallobby-ads-biggest-third-party-political-expenditure-in-australia

15

  https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.
PC?view=map&year_high_desc=true

16

  https://www.envirojustice.org.au/sites/default/files/files/
Submissions%20and%20reports/Envirojustice_air_pollution_
report_final.pdf

17

  http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/
mercury-and-health

  
https://bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/road_deaths_australia_
monthly_bulletins.aspx

2

  
https://www.envirojustice.org.au/sites/default/files/files/
Submissions%20and%20reports/Envirojustice_air_pollution_
report_final.pdf

3

4
5

  Doctors for the Environment Australia, Submission no 4 to Senate
Community Affairs References Committee, Parliament of Australia,
Impacts on Health of Air Quality in Australia, 2013, pp5,8; World
Health Organization, Health Aspects of Air Pollution with Particulate
Matter, Ozone and Nitrogen Dioxide, Report on WHO Working
Group (2003) pp5-6.

6

  ABS, 6523 Household Income and Wealth, Australia: Summary
of Results, 2015–16

7

 h
  ttps://www.dea.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/VIC-Browncoal-fired-power-stations-licence-reviews-submission---02-18.pdf

8

19

 Australian Conservation Foundation

Appendix 1: Which pollutant is which
and how they harm our health

•  Oxides of nitrogen mainly impacts on
respiratory conditions causing inflammation of
the airways at high levels. Long-term exposure
can decrease lung function, increase the risk of
respiratory conditions and increase the response
to allergens.

Air pollution occurs whenever a harmful or
excessive quantity of a substance such as a gas,
particulate or biological molecule is introduced
into the earth’s atmosphere. Natural processes such
as bushfires, volcanoes and dust can generate air
pollution, though human activities are increasingly
responsible for the release of many dangerous
toxics substances.

•  High levels of oxides of nitrogen can damage
vegetation, including leaf damage and reduced
growth. It can make vegetation more susceptible
to disease and frost damage.

The NPI contains emissions information on 93
individual toxic substances emitted by polluting
facilities in Australia. This report is focused on five
of the most pervasive air pollutants in Australia,
primarily produced by anthropogenic (humanmade) sources.

Mercury and compounds
•  Elemental and methylmercury are toxic to the
central and peripheral nervous systems.
•  The inhalation of mercury vapour can produce
harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and
immune systems, lungs and kidneys, and may
be fatal.

Sulfur dioxide
•  Sulfur dioxide is a major air pollutant and has
significant impacts on human health.

•  Mild, subclinical signs of central nervous system
toxicity can be seen in workers exposed to an
elemental mercury level in the air of 20 μg/m3
or more for several years.17

•  The concentration of sulfur dioxide in the
atmosphere can influence the health of broader
ecosystems by impacting the habitat suitability
for plant and animal life.

•  Burning coal for power and heat is a major
source of mercury. Coal contains mercury and
other hazardous air pollutants that are emitted
when the coal is burned in coal-fired power
plants, industrial boilers and household stoves.

•  Inhaling sulfur dioxide is associated with
increased respiratory symptoms and disease,
difficulty in breathing, and premature death.
•  The highest concentrations of sulfur dioxide
in the air are found around petrol refineries,
chemical manufacturing industries, mineral ore
processing plants and power stations.

PM2.5
•  Particle pollution is a mixture of solid particles
and liquid droplets. PM2.5 particles are smaller
than 2.5 micrometres (0.0025 mm) in diameter.
Commonly described as ‘fine particles’, they
are up to 30 times smaller than the width of a
human hair.

Oxides of nitrogen
•  Oxides of nitrogen are a mixture of gases that
are composed of nitrogen and oxygen. Two of
the most toxicologically significant compounds
are nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide
(NO2).

•  PM2.5 particles are small enough to be breathed
deep into the lungs. This can cause serious health
problems. Common symptoms are wheezing,
chest tightness and difficulty breathing.

•  Other gases belonging to this group are nitrogen
monoxide (or nitrous oxide, N2O), and nitrogen
pentoxide (NO5).

20

 The dirty truth – Australia’s most polluted postcodes

•  Studies have found a close link between
exposure to fine particles and premature death
from heart and lung disease. Fine particles are
also known to trigger or worsen chronic disease
such as asthma, heart attack, bronchitis and
other respiratory problems.
•  PM2.5 particles result from the burning of fossil
fuels, organic matter, and most other materials,
such as rubber and plastic. Motor vehicles and
power plant emissions are also major sources
of fine particles.
•  Fine particles can be carried over long distances
by wind and then settle on ground or water.
Depending on their chemical composition,
the effects of this settling may include making
lakes and streams acidic, changing the nutrient
balance in coastal waters and large river basins,
and depleting the nutrients in soil.

PM10
•  PM10 particles are smaller than 10 micrometres
(0.01 mm) in diameter. PM10 particles are
commonly described as ‘coarse particles’.
•  PM10 particles commonly occur from
combustion activities such as motor vehicles
and industrial processes. Dust from unsealed
roads is another major source of PM10 particles.

•  Exposure to high concentrations of PM10 can
result in a number of health impacts ranging
from coughing and wheezing to asthma attacks
and bronchitis to high blood pressure, heart
attack, strokes and premature death.

Table 1
Total annual emissions of five air pollutants

Type of emission

Total (kg)

(%)

Mercury and compounds

7,710.13

0.0003%

Oxides of nitrogen

725,104,292.6

28.31%

Particulate Matter ≤10.0 m m (PM10)

918,348,007.5

35.85%

Particulate Matter ≤2.5 m m (PM2.5)

30,326,666.92

1.18%

Sulfur dioxide

887,781,254.5

34.66%

Total

2,561,567,932

100%

 We love
our beautiful
planet

Australian Conservation Foundation
Level 1, 60 Leicester Street
Carlton VIC 3053
ABN 22 007 498 482

Telephone 1800 223 669
Website acf.org.au
Email acf@acf.org.au
Twitter @AusConservation

Authorised by Kelly O'Shanassy,
ACF, 1/60 Leicester st, Carlton, VIC, 3053