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Coal the ‘worst’ air pollutant: report

Photo: AAP

Photo: AAP

The coal industry is the nation’s worst air polluter and is causing a “dangerous” spike in toxic emissions, a new report has alleged.

Of 93 toxic substances, coal results in the most polluting particles, Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) reported after a three-month study based on five years of data voluntarily submitted by polluters to the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI).

The results should be a “wake-up call” for state and federal governments, EJA director of advocacy and research Nicola Rivers said in a statement.

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“It’s time for reform. Australia’s lax air quality standards are regularly exceeded by big coal polluters who fail to implement best-practice pollution control measures, while regulators consistently turn a blind eye to the problem,” Ms Rivers said.

“More Australians die from air pollution than from car crashes, but too little is being done to control major polluters such as coal mines and coal-fired power stations.

“It’s now clear that pollution from the burning and mining of coal increases cardiovascular and respiratory disease and lung cancer rates.”

The amount of coarse-particle pollution (called PM10) released by coal mining has doubled in the past five years, the report found.

Coal companies reported 435,000 tonnes of PM10 in the latest 2013-14 NPI report, 47 per cent of the national total.

Victoria’s Latrobe Valley is home to the nation’s four highest emitting coal-fired power stations.

In NSW, the Hunter Valley has some of the most polluting coal mines in Australia, eclipsed only by Queensland’s Bowen Basin, according to EJA’s research.

Where Newcastle’s three massive coal terminals are that city’s top source of PM10 and have seen a 70 per cent increase in emissions across five years.

Health and environment groups have pushed for a new law to combat air pollution.

The Abbott Government has so far resisted, saying it is instead working toward a national air quality agreement.

A discussion paper on curbing air pollution will be considered at the next meeting of federal and state environment ministers.

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