Dust Up: Review of Harmful PM10 Dust Emissions in the Mackay ...

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Table 1. Largest Industrial Sources of PM10 Particulates in the Mackay Local Government Area 2011-2012IndustryPM10 (kg)Hay Point Coal Terminal 430,000Boral Resources 40,000Mackay Asphalt Plant, Farleigh 30,000Hanson Construction – Farleigh35,000QuarryFarleigh Sugar Mill 320,000Marian Sugar Mill 201,000Racecourse Sugar Mill 330,000QR National – Jilalan Rail Yard, Sarina 21Stanwell Corp. Ltd – Mackay Gas12TurbineSucrogen Plane Creek 250,000Thomas Borthwick & Sons (Aust) -140meatworksDalrymple Bay Coal Terminal 71,000TOTAL 1,707,173Source: National Pollution Inventory (online Australian government database)Port Growth and Rise in PM10 Particulate EmissionsNorth Queensland Bulk Ports (NQBP) in its 2012 annual report stated that between 2011 and 201282.884 million tonnes of coal was exported through the Dalrymple Bay and Hay Point coal terminalsat the Port of Hay Point. If the two Dudgeon Point coal terminals are approved the capacity of thePort of Hay Point is planned to increase by 20 million tonnes initially to 170 million tonnes perannum of coal exports, and to 340 million tonnes within 20 years. Add in additional PM10 emissionsfrom three industrial hubs proposed between Mackay and Hay Point to support the Port and in 20years they are likely to be the largest source of particulate emissions in the Mackay region.For example assuming the increase in PM10 particulates from operations with the port lands is inline with the increase in coal exports, there would be 1,027,050 kg of PM10 particulates emittedfrom the port lands during the initial phase of the Dudgeon Point coal expansion i.e.((170 Mtpa/82.884Mtpa x (430,000 + 71,000 kg PM10)).Similarly by the time the Dudgeon Point coal terminals were completed in 20 years’ time, PM10emissions from the port lands could be 4.1 times greater than in 2011-2012 at 2,054,100 kg. Theport lands would be by far the largest point source of PM10 particulates in the Mackay localgovernment area.The 2013 Mackay Regional Council’s draft Planning Scheme states that three industrial hubs areproposed in the future along the coast between Mackay and Hay Point. One of these will be atransport hub. They will be significant additional sources of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate emissions.As the prevailing winds in this region are from the south-east, this will mean far greater particulatesMackay Conservation Group. Dust Up Report. Oct 2013
pollution falling over Bakers Creek and Mackay from the port lands and the associated industrial andtransport hubs.NQBP has begun PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring at McEwens Beach but only plans on one suchmonitoring station which will be mobile. It is not planning to monitor ground level ozone precursors.That is insufficient to gather enough data to measure off-site increases and impacts. Health impactsneed to be measured and understood before any further coal export expansion proceeds.Visible PM10 Particulates Coal Dust Deposition on Residential Sites Surrounding Hay PointPort LandsCoal dust and diesel PM10 and smaller particulates, which are found in the fine dark particulates inthe dust deposition data collected by NQBP are more hazardous to health than other forms ofparticulates. They are associated with respiratory and heart diseases as well as cancer. The youngand elderly are the most susceptible.HLA-Envirosciences gathers monthly measurements of dust deposition from nine residential sitesnear the Hay Point port lands for NQBP. This data is analysed in their lab to determine percentage offine dark particulates, which are primarily coal dust and some incompletely burned carcinogenicdiesel particulates. NQBP provides this data in monthly reports available to the public. All records ofless than one per cent fine dark particulates were considered zero fine dark particulates andexcluded. The percentage of all records from 2000-2012 containing this form of dust for eachresidential area monitored was calculated and graphed against distance from the coal stockpiles(Fig.3). The locations of the residential and port monitoring sites are shown in Fig. 4.Fig.3 Percentage of Dust Deposition Records (200-2012) for Residential Sites around Hay Point and ControlSites at Grasstree Beach Containing Coal Dust.Percentages ranged from 98 per cent of all observations at the south-east end of the Louisa Creekcommunity within 250m from the nearest coal stockpile, to 40 per cent of all observations at 2 kmMackay Conservation Group. Dust Up Report. Oct 2013
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Page 5: Fig. 2 Average Annual Ambient Air Q
Page 9 and 10: Fig. 5 Proposed urban expansion dow

Dust Up: Review of Harmful PM10 Dust Emissions in the Mackay ...

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