Other provisions for the control of air pollution were later introduced into legislation in the form of sections of the Health Act and the Local Government Act. 34; One of the fortunate aspects of air pollution in Australia is the small contribution from domestic purposes". However, in 1970 the establishment of the Victorian Environment Protection Authority saw a rapid increase in air pollution control in that state and the state other states increased staffing later in the 1970s.
The Environmental Protection Authority will conduct a review of the Air Policy during 1988, and it is proposed to call for submissions early in the year. One of the prerequisites for the licensing of a new industrial facility with environmental impact is that the air quality standards, defined in the TA-Lufl [2]. Due to the importance of the piant-related measurements for the licensing procedure, details of the measurements and their design are regulated by the Federal Government in the TA-Luft [2].
Air quality standards of TA-Luft are of course closely related to the defined measurement procedure. No additional measurements are needed if the pollution load is below 80% of the air quality standards (compare Section 2). b) Continuous system with per-.
QUALITY ASSURANCE Because the ecological and economic
OVERSEAS NEWS
THE PRACTICE OF AIR POLLUTANT MEASUREMENT CASANZ Intensive 3-Day Course
Instruction and demonstration of air pollutant measuring equipment 2. Lunches and two evening meals
Air Pollution Measurement Manual, 2nd edition plus new supplement. Each chapter of the 560 page Manual was prepared by experienced practitioners of the described techniques
A REVIEW IN PERSPECTIVE K.M. Sullivan
THE GLOBAL CARBON CYCLE
One source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere arises from the burning of coal in the world's power plants. This value is of a sufficiently low order to indicate that the contribution of the world's coal-fired power stations to the greenhouse effect is minor and that a significant increase in the use of coal for power generation would only have a small, virtually insignificant impact or. A number of baseline monitoring stations exist in various parts of the world for the determination of both C 02 and other radiative gases in the atmosphere.
Ice core data and measurements show that C 02 has increased in the atmosphere by approximately 25% since the early 19th century, due to increased industrialization and increased agricultural activity. If the model results were correct, the increase in C 02 concentration since the mid-19th century should have already caused a noticeable warming of the global surface. In fact, four phases have been identified in Northern Hemisphere temperature time series over the past 130 years: (a) cooling from the mid to late 1880s.
Models can predict that with increasing C 02 and other radiative gases in the atmosphere, there will be an increase in global temperature. For an estimated doubling of the C 02 gas concentration, the expected temperature increase is in the range of 1.5°C to 4.5°C [l0]. Therefore, a warming of the earth, as a result of increased C 02 in the atmosphere, would result in an increased removal of CO2 from the atmosphere by the oceans, thus tending to an equilibrium situation in the global carbon cycle.
Changes in the Earth's climate resulting from a warming of the Earth's atmosphere will also affect land use, water resources and human activities. In effect, this will then cause a change in population location and in the economy of some regions of the world. Therefore, the relative influence of C 02 on the greenhouse effect in the future will be reduced from its current contribution of 50%.
However, there is an increasingly important role for science to play in dealing with the consequences of increasing radioactive gases in the atmosphere.
EVOLUTION IN CLEAN AIR LEGISLATION
On 13 October the NSW Branch held a late afternoon/evening seminar on "Future Directions for Air Pollution Legislation". A large audience of 60 delegates attended CSIRO, North Ryde to hear four speakers, each an expert in their own field, who gave different views on the controversial subject of air pollution legislation and how it must constantly adapt to changing industrial and social forces. dr. John Harry - former head of department at the SPCC, on the development of air pollution legislation in NSW.
Mr David Farrier - Senior Lecturer in Law, University of NSW and Director of the Environmental Defender's Office, provides an environmental lawyer's view on the current shortcomings of the law and how they can be improved. Mr Ross Robinson – Engineering Manager, BHP Slab and Plate Production Division, on the industry's needs for cost-effective and practical laws. A panel discussion followed, during which delegates asked questions of the speakers and concluded with a brief summary by Alasdair Guthrie, Chief Air and Motor Vehicles Division, SPCC.
The following is a summary of the four presenters' presentations, as perceived by a delegate at the seminar, together with Alasdair Guthrie's summary of the main conclusions from the seminar and panel session.
GIVING THE LAW BACK TO THE PEOPLE
Practical application of legislation - overcome the problem with the 'best practical' and cost-effective means available. Those who operate the industries that legislation and regulation are designed to control, to have a voice in their content. The provision of charges in proportion to the level and toxicity of atmospheric discharge is not recommended, as the level of discharge may be determined by the ability of the industry concerned to pay.
Once legislation/regulations are passed and organizations are established to administer them, the desired changes are generally achieved in a relatively short time. The results should be monitored so that direction can be changed from time to time to ensure a balanced result across all pollution sources, traffic, industry, agriculture and private sources etc. The wider, global scene needs to be addressed and we have all recently learned about the destruction of the ozone layer by CFCs - there is little use in calling a private home owner to burn rubbish in an incinerator if we want to destroy the global environment.
The history of asbestos is now well documented and we have seen the work done by James Hardy Industries Limited to remove asbestos as a raw material in the composition of all their manufactured lines. Going forward, the problem discovered may be of such a magnitude that a progressive and structured approach to change is unacceptable and the process must be shut down until modifications are made. It will not self-regulate in all cases, even with the environmental awareness that is now prevalent in our society.
This becomes increasingly urgent as we continue to learn about the effects of various substances and complex combinations of substances on the human body and the environment. Public, union and government awareness of the 'value of industry in our society' needs to be strengthened if we are to move away from this situation of ignorance and the generally negative and insensitive attitude that often exists. In this atmosphere, it is possible to develop appropriate and effective legislation and implement initiatives that promote industrial development.
CLEAN AIR - WHOSE BREATHING AND
WHOSE DECIDING?
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POLLUTION MONITORING AND CONTROL
Monitoring services
Computerised plume dispersion modelling Control equipment specification
Factory and site boundary noise surveys Environmental authority submissions
Carbon dioxide is transparent to the sun's ultraviolet and visible spectrum radiation, but absorbs and emits some of the infrared radiation radiated from the Earth's surface into space. The carbon dioxide in this case acts as a thermal blanket and this is often compared to the action of the glass of a greenhouse and is commonly known as the greenhouse effect. Until recently there was much discussion but no concerted action, mainly because research into the nature and extent of the increase in carbon dioxide was incomplete and the expected timescale for the doubling of C 02 in the atmosphere was on the order of 75 to 100 years lay.
This resulted in what has become known as the Villach Declaration, which is reproduced in the final version of the report. 34. As a result of increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, it is now believed that the first half of the next century could see a rise in global average temperatures greater than any in human history.”. This could be postponed. due to the large heat capacity of the upper layers of the oceans.
Although positive evidence for the occurrence of the effect is still lacking, there is evidence of temperature rise and sea level rise. Since the prediction of the effect is based on sound physical principles and the possible consequences for life on Earth would be widespread, it seems not only reasonable but even necessary that the entire problem be studied in detail. It is therefore considered necessary that specific studies be conducted across the Australian region.
For these reasons, the CSIRO Division of Atmospheric Research decided together with the Commission for the Future to convene "The Greenhouse Project", a joint activity to broaden the debate on climate change due to the greenhouse effect. The expected decrease in the north-south temperature gradient is expected to lead to a decrease in the strength of the blowing westerly wind component by possibly as much as 20%. In the south, however, the north-south temperature gradient may temporarily increase due to the lag of ocean temperatures behind those of the continent.
Barry Jones, Minister for Science and Small Business, who emphasized the importance of the problem and provided his support for further research. He summarized v.p. the historical background of the whole problem and then briefly outlined the known facts regarding the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. For example, for Australia, three of the latest global model experiments give the effects of a doubling of carbon dioxide as: + 4oC, + 4oC, + 6oC (for surface air temperature)/ and: no change, significantly wetter, significantly drier (for precipitation).
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