Tara Murray
Air quality has improved in Brooklyn, according to the Environmental Protection Authority’s annual report.
The report released earlier this month, highlighted the EPA’s achievements throughout the 2020-21 financial year, including improvements in Brooklyn.
According to the report, in 2020–21 the daily standard for PM10 (particles less than 10 micrometres in diameter) was achieved more frequently than in any other year.
“This improvement is thought to be due to a combination of above-average rainfall and increased regulatory action,” the report said.
“Efforts to improve air quality for the Brooklyn community in Melbourne’s western suburbs were boosted in 2020–21 with a project focused on dust emissions from material recycling and container storage activities in the Brooklyn Industrial Precinct.”
This comes despite two fires at Cleanaway’s Brooklyn Resource Recovery Centre this year.
The EPA report said the Brooklyn industrial precinct had more than 60 industries, including quarrying, former landfill, abattoirs, material recycling, tallow producers, container storage and a variety of small businesses from light industrial to retail and manufacturing.
The EPA has 12 active remedial notices addressing dust emission,s with an estimated total cost of compliance of about $12.5 million.
The report said the notices are in relation to the installation of controls to prevent dust from onsite traffic by sealing hard stands, dust from materials-handling activities, and mud tracking out onto public roads.
The report also made mention of the ongoing Kealba landfill hotspot fires which have been burning for more than two years.
Several remedial notices have been issued to the Barro Group, which runs the site, and suspended the group’s license in July.
“An EPA review of air quality, odour monitoring and pollution reports indicated that odour levels from the landfill were causing community concern,” the report said.
“We continued to work with Fire Rescue Victoria, WorkSafe and Brimbank City Council to consider advice on any additional measures that could be taken to extinguish the hotspots quickly and minimise odours during the process.
“The current clean up notice remains in force, and we regulate this site with regular proactive compliance inspections, odour surveys, and enforcement where needed.”
