Dust Monitoring
Dust monitoring stations include two Osiris
units, located at Britannia Avenue and the Hurst Road quarry and
the Kwinana Industries Council (KIC) TEOM unit
located at Tindal Avenue (pictured right), all within the Kwinana
Air Quality Buffer (KAQB).
The Osiris units are known as 'particulate counting units' and
record and continuously monitor ten minute averages of TSP (below
20 micron), PM10, PM2.5 and PM1.0. The TEOM records and
continuously monitors PM10 and other parameters including SO2, NO
and NO2.
Independent consultants URS Australia Pty Ltd
maintain the monitoring stations and oversee all the data retrieval
and quality assurance. This information is collected by URS on a
monthly basis and provided to the Department of Environment and
Conservation (DEC) and air quality consultants Katestone Environmental for
results analysis and reporting.
Katestone Environmental in turn provides monthly
reports that summarise the air quality monitoring data collected by
URS at the Brittania Ave and Hurst Road Quarry ambient air quality
monitoring stations, as well as the data collected from the Kwinana
Industries Council (KIC) TEOM unit. These air quality reports are
provided to the DEC on a monthly basis.
In addition to the above, six dust deposition gauges (pictured
right) located around the Munster Plant have been in place since
October 2009 following a request from the DEC. These dust
deposition gauges capture non-suspended dust particles (the dust
fraction not collected by the Osiris or TEOM units) and physical
samples and weight of deposited dust are taken and retained on a
monthly basis. Information relating to monthly weight of deposited
dust has been provided to DEC.
In consultation with the DEC and the Department of Health, we plan to increase dust monitoring over the next three years.
Three OSIRIS monitors have been installed at South Coogee Primary School, in addition to the two already in place. The monitors were welcomed by Principal Lyn Beard as a positive way to work with Cockburn Cement to achieve environmental improvement. The other monitors have been placed at the Water Corporation near Henderson Road and in an area west of Cockburn Cement, opposite TAFE.
The monitors capture weather data including wind speed, direction and air temperature. However their main function is to measure the dust in the air, including a range of of particle sizes. The information from the units is fed back to Cockburn Cement control rooms, simulating the likelihood of community impacts that can then be linked to process conditions.
The OSIRIS monitors are import in assisting Cockburn Cement to improve environmental performance.
