Air Quality

Particulates, alternatively referred to as particulate matter (PM), aerosols or fine particles, are tiny particles of solid or liquid suspended in a gas. They range in size from less than 10 nanometres to more than 100 micrometres in diameter.

The notation PM10 is used to describe particles of 10 micrometres or less and PM2.5 represents particles less than 2.5 micrometres in aerodynamic diameter; other numeric values may also be used.

The effects of inhaling particulate matter has been widely studied in humans and animals and include asthma, lung cancer, cardiovascular issues, and premature death.

Larger particles are generally filtered in the nose and throat and do not cause problems, but particulate matter smaller than about 10 micrometres, referred to as PM10, can settle in the bronchi and lungs and cause health problems.

10.0 um Particulate Matter released into the air...... 2,300,000 kg/yr........ Rio Tinto Coal

10.0 um Particulate Matter released into the air...... 8,900,000 kg/yr....................Tarong

10.0 um Particulate Matter released into the air.............. 28,000 kg/yr...........Tarong North

Check out the report below and see the list of other chemicals and emissions that is in the air that you breath.

There are 3 emission reports for Tarong, Tarong North & Rio Tinto available.

Substance Emissions - Electricity Supply [ 361 ]: Postcode 4615

	Total (kg/year)	Air (kg/year)	Water (kg/year)
Arsenic & compounds	290	120	170
Beryllium & compounds	91	87	3.8
Boron & compounds	55,000	55,000	2.7
Cadmium & compounds	56	48	7.5
Carbon monoxide	1,700,000	1,700,000
Chlorine	0.21	0.21
Chromium (III) compounds	630	530	97
Chromium (VI) compounds	81	28	53
Cobalt & compounds	16	8.1	7.7
Copper & compounds	1,000	810	220
Fluoride compounds	510,000	510,000	6,100
Hydrochloric acid	1,100,000	1,100,000
Lead & compounds	900	840	61
Manganese & compounds	4,100	1,800	2,400
Mercury & compounds	310	310	0.44
Nickel & compounds	540	480	64
Oxides of Nitrogen	56,000,000	56,000,000
Particulate Matter 10.0 um	8,900,000	8,900,000
Polychlorinated dioxins and furans	0.0059	0.0059
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons	80	80
Sulfur dioxide	34,000,000	34,000,000
Sulfuric acid	370,000	370,000
Total Volatile Organic Compounds	190,000	190,000
Zinc and compounds	1,400	1,000	380

Low levels of oxides of nitrogen can irritate eyes, nose, throat and lungs, possibly leading to coughing,shortness of breath, tiredness and nausea. Exposure can also result in a build up of fluid in the lungs for-2 days after exposure. Breathing high levels of oxides of nitrogen can cause rapid burning, spasms andswelling of tissues in the throat and upper respiratory tract, reduced oxygenation of tissues, a build up offluid in the lungs, and maybe even death.Skin or eye contact with high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen gases or nitrogen dioxide liquid will likelylead to serious burns.

Chromium VI compounds are usually highly toxic. Breathing in chromium (VI) compounds can damage and irritate your nose, throat, lungs, stomach and intestines. It may lead to asthma and other allergic reactions. Exposure to chromium (VI) can cause stomach upsets, ulcers, convulsions, kidney and liver damage. Long-term exposure to airborne chromium (VI) can have adverse effects on the respiratory and the immune systems and can cause cancer. Skin contact with liquids and solids may lead to skin ulcers, redness and swelling

How might chromium (VI) compounds enter my body?

Air-borne particles can be breathed in. Skin exposure to chromium (VI) will be especially noticed by those individuals with skin allergies

A $4.6 billion settlement Tuesday 9/10/07 by one of the polluting power companies signals the end of a long legal debate over acid rain. Read More)

Nooroomba Feedlot

Substance	Total (kg)	Emittied via Air
Ammonia (total) 09/10	? kg	? kg
Ammonia (total) 08/09	120,000 kg	120,000 kg
Ammonia (total) 07/08	97,000 kg	97,000 kg
Ammonia (total) 06/07	150,000 kg	150,000 kg
Ammonia (total) 05/06	78,000 kg	78,000 kg

http://www.npi.gov.au

RADS is an inflammatory disorder of the airways characterized by cough, wheezing and difficulty breathing (bronchial hyperactivity) caused by inhalation of a high concentration of irritating fumes, gases or smoke. It is also known as “irritant induced” asthma. The illness differs from bronchial and occupational asthma due to the rapid onset of symptoms resulting from a very specific single exposure to a substance in people with no apparent preexisting allergy or sensitivity to that substance. Usually the onset of symptoms occurs within 24 hours after the exposure and can persist for several months.

Email sent from George to the NPI regarding the incorrect report from Nooroomba feedlot..30/7/07..
Organisation: Bunya Watch

Comments: I would like to ask about your reporting for the postcode area
4615 for the year 2005-2006.

I notice in your 'NPI location report - All sources: Postcode 4615'
that the TOTAL ammonia was 55,000kg. How did you arrive at this figure?

I ask this because of the reporting for - 2005 -2006 R T & V K Cullen
4615 (nooroomba feedlot) was 78,000 kg ammonia alone.

Thank you

Thank you for your comment.
The coordinates provided by the facility are not located in 4615, hence
the emissions from that facility do not show in your search for that
post code.
We note that the address provided has the postcode 4615, and it appears
that this is an anomaly.
We will refer this to our colleagues at the Queensland EPA for review.

Katie

National Pollutant Inventory
Department of the Environment and Water Resources
Email: npi@environment.gov.au
Web: www.npi.gov.au

Further to your correspondence with Katie last month here are our responses to your questions about the NPI website and ammonia emissions for postcode 4615. Apologies for the delay in responding to your email.

As mentioned by Katie the latitude/longitude coordinates we have for R T & V K Cullen (Nooroomba feedlot) are actually incorrect therefore the ammonia emissions data for this facility did not come up under a postcode area search for 4615. In order to fix this would have to contact R T & V K Cullen and ask them to send us a map of their area with their facility marked on it so that we can determine the correct latitude/longitude and change it on our database.
The next update to the facility data on the website will not be carried out by the Department of the Environment and Water Resources until the end of January 2008 so if we get the correct latitude/longitude figures the facility location would not be corrected until then at the earliest.
To get a more accurate total ammonia emissions figure for postcode 4615 you would need to add the 78,000 kg ammonia figure for R T & V K Cullen (Nooroomba feedlot) to the existing figure of 55,000kg from the NPI website. This 55,000 kg of total ammonia is made up of 11,000kg emitted by S&IP Langford and 44,000 kg which represents a general estimate of non-intensive livestock emissions for those facilities not reporting to the NPI.

The following webpage gives further information on how the data is collected: http://www.npi.gov.au/about/how_npi_data.html

Chromium (VI) compounds		81 Kg 2005/06