31/01/2006 - The amount of phosphorus entering the Murray
Darling Basin from sewerage and water treatment plants fell
31 per cent during 2004-05, the Acting Australian Government
Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Warren Truss,
said today.
Mr Truss said the reduction is reported in the annual National
Pollutant Inventory which was released today. He said the
reduction reflected hard work by the Australian Government
and relevant states to upgrade the water quality of the
Murray Darling Basin.
The National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is publicly available
data compiled by the Australian, State and Territory governments
from information submitted by more than 3,700 facilities
across the country. It helps the community and industry
track emissions to air, land and water of 90 different substances
from facilities across Australia.
Mr Truss said the NPI also showed a drop in emissions for
just over half the substances reported under the system.
Substances that had a significant decrease in emissions
included arsenic and compounds and chromium III compounds
mainly from the metal ore mining sector, and polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons and formaldehyde mainly from the non-ferrous
metal manufacturing sector.
"Changes in emissions can be due to variations in facility
operations, better estimation of emissions or the installation
of new pollution control equipment.
"One of the more widely reported pollutants, benzene,
rose 33 per cent over the past year, reflecting an increase
in manufacturing and processing activities. However, the
Australian Government had introduced strict new fuel quality
limits on benzene in petrol which should see reductions
in emissions from sources such as motor fuels.
"Although states and territories are responsible for
controlling emissions from industry facilities, the Australian
Government is actively tackling benzene emissions from other
sources. As of 1 January this year, Australian fuel can
contain only one per cent benzene, which brings us in line
with world best standards," Mr Truss said.
The latest data on industry emissions across Australia is
available on the NPI web site at www.npi.gov.au.
Anyone can access information about sources and amounts
of pollution in their areas by keying in their postcodes.
Mr Truss said this information is a powerful tool that allows
communities to better understand the state of their local
environment. It also helps industries to benchmark their
own emissions against their competitors and work towards
improving their environmental performance.
Facilities are obliged to report their emissions if they
exceed certain levels. The number reporting each year is
steadily increasing as more companies become aware of their
obligations.
Mr Truss commended the industries that are reporting their
emissions and reminded others to make sure that they are
meeting their reporting obligations.
"The information industries provide creates an invaluable
guide to help track changes in emissions over time,"
he said. |