Lead Advisory Service Australia
Aims to eliminate lead poisoning, protect the environment from lead
and to strengthen networks of stakeholders to solve lead problems

Lead Advisory Service News Volume 1 No 1
The journal of The Lead Advisory Service  ISSN 1440-0561

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News Briefs

Sydney’s West Lacks Public Transport

A recent NRMA study found that vast sections of the West of Sydney were entirely dependent on the car. When public transport was available, travel times to get to Parramatta from various outlying suburbs were usually much less by car.

Pollution Fines

State pollution fines approached $1 million in the last financial year, with nearly double the number of fines from last year. Of these, almost $700,000 in fines was issued by the courts, with almost half being made under the Clean Air Act. These were mainly for excessive vehicle emissions.

Pollutant Inventory Criticised

A letter was recently sent from the National Environment Consultative Forum to various State and Federal Ministers and the National Environment Protection Council condemning changes to the National Pollutant Inventory, stating that the role of the NPI was thereby significantly undermined. The changes were: (i) excluding the reporting of toxic chemicals dumped into sewers, landfills and tailing dams, (ii) excluding the reporting of waste sent for recycling or recovery and (iii) encouraging States and Territories not to enforce the scheme through fines and sanctions.

New Danger in Diesel

A new study led by Japanese researcher Hitomi Suzuki of Kyoto University has found a compound in diesel exhaust fumes that may be the most carcinogenic ever discovered. The compound is called 3-nitrobenzanthrone and is particularly a problem in the emissions of heavily loaded diesel engines.

Stormwater Trust

NSW Government have set aside $60m to help deal with the problem of stormwater washing rubbish into NSW waterways. "The Stormwater Trust will give councils access to funding which will enable them to develop partnerships with the private sector using innovative technologies" said NSW Environment Minister Pam Allan.

Council’s Asbestos Legal Action

Leichhardt Council is looking at prosecuting developers for failing to observe asbestos safety regulations. Fragments of friable asbestos were left on an owner’s property and not removed by developers, despite Council requests. The Council failed to follow up on the developers, and the matter is now under investigation by NSW Ombudsman Irene Moss.

Metal Recycling Releases Dioxin

A recent survey by AEA Technology in the U.K. found that metal recycling and waste incineration are contaminating the environment with highly poisonous dioxin. Metal recycling has not commonly been linked with production of dioxins. Metal recycling was found to produce between 8-30% and Municipal waste incineration 20-40% of Britain’s dioxin.

Sewage Sludge into Stone

A Japanese company, Tsukishima Kikai, has developed a way of producing synthetic stone from the ash of incinerated sewage sludge. The technique involves mixing the ash with silica, alumina and lime and degassing at very high temperatures. The resulting "Ecorock" can withstand 4.5 times the bending force of granite or marble.

Smoking and Heart Attacks

An Auckland University study published in the British Medical Journal recently found a possible explanation why smokers who have heart attacks are less likely to die in hospital than non-smokers. They say smokers are more likely to die on the way to hospital.

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Last Updated 17 April 2012
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