An air quality monitoring station was operated at a community receptor location, on the northeastern outskirts of the Pinjarra township, over three periods in 2023 and 2024 for about five months. The objective of the monitoring program was to assess ambient dust levels at the location for different times of the year, to help provide a more representative view.
The program was in response to concerns expressed by community members regarding potential dust emissions from the nearby refinery operations.
It found that the levels of dust in the air were below relevant national guidelines. There were, however, smoke events from nearby fires that caused a higher level of fine particles on two occasions.
The concentration of metals in airborne dust was also measured and found to be lower than health guidelines.
The Ambient Dust Monitoring Campaign, Pinjarra report is available on the department’s website.
The Department of Water and Environmental Regulation’s Executive Director of Assurance, Ruth Dowd, said the Department of Health had reviewed the results.
“The Department of Health has advised that the measured concentrations of dust and metals do not represent a public health risk at the location where the monitoring was conducted,” she said.
“Another monitoring campaign at a more central location will be conducted this summer, to assess the levels of dust throughout the year.”
The department will liaise with the Shire of Murray and the Department of Health in the scoping phases of the upcoming monitoring campaign and will stream dust results in real-time on the department’s website.
These live results, as for all other DWER monitoring sites around the state, will help assist the Pinjarra community to see and respond to local dust levels.
Community events to provide information on the dust monitoring and the results are being planned.
