‘Dust Stop’ pollution reduction programme

Challenge

Pollution Reduction Programs were developed by SLR for ten Centennial coal mines across New South Wales. These assessments were performed to comply with conditions in the environmental approvals for these sites to review dust mitigation measures at each site in accordance with the NSW Environmental Protection Authorities (EPA) Coal Mine Particulate Matter Control: Best Practice Site-Specific Determination Guideline.

Solution

Site visits were performed to gain a detailed working knowledge of each site, prior to the compilation of a detailed dust emissions inventory.

The existing particulate control measures implemented at each site were factored into the emission calculations. The emission sources were then ranked to identify the major emission sources, as required by the guideline, and potential additional controls identified for implementation to reduced site emissions, including a cost/benefit analysis. Based on the findings of the analysis, an implementation plan was developed for each site to implement or investigate the most cost-effective control measures.

Impact

The assessments were accepted by NSW EPA and made publicly available.