At Robert Richards's, house dust is constantly covering the white weatherboards. Until recently, he had no idea he was living next to one of Australia's biggest silent killers.
Using the same methodology they recalculated the figure, for Australia.Air pollution can be caused by both man-made and natural factors. Burning fossil fuels, heavy industry, wood-fired heaters and traffic emissions all cause air pollution, but so do dust storms and bushfire smoke.
"It is now known, for example, that traffic pollution exposure over a long period of time can cause heart attacks, stroke, can be associated with dementia, diabetes, low-birth-weight pregnancies, a wide range of system effects."Part of the problem in addressing these health concerns, he says, is the lack of understanding about the issue amongst the wider public.
"The WHO guidelines are now 5 micrograms per cubic metre [as the standard average annual air-quality level], but in Victoria we are still 8 micrograms per cubic metre," he says. The Australian Conservation Foundation last year complied a list of the 10 most-polluted suburbs in Australia, based on Federal Government data which collates emissions from big industrial polluters.
That report analysed the results from air-quality monitors in the inner west — including the monitor next to Mr Richards's house.at 10 — which is double what the World Health Organisation recommends, and above the Australian standard., another type of particulate matter larger than PMThat same report found Melbourne had recorded 297 instances where air pollution had exceeded reporting standards between 2010-2020, and of those 201 had occurred in the inner west of the city.
While scientists and community groups have long criticised a lack of adequate air monitoring in the region, these newer stations have allowed scientists to take a deeper look at the health impacts of higher pollution levels.Ms Walter's most recent study, which is yet to be published, has used the readings from these monitors to examine the asthma risk for children in the inner west of Melbourne, with a particular focus on traffic pollution.
Ms Walter says it is important to understand her study looks at the risks of asthma associated with the air quality along major roads, and it is likely children wouldn't spend all of their time in these locations."It is a significant figure, particularly when you consider children in this area already have a high prevalence of asthma," she says.She also used data from a relatively new community air quality monitor which is located along a major truck route.
She wants to see more vegetation barriers being built around sensitive sites, and says other measures that could be considered include buffer zones being included between major roads and where children play and ideally the creation of "low-emission zones prohibiting trucks from taking routes outside of childcare centres and schools during school hours.
"For the daytime, in the construction time, an hourly reading would go well above 24 microgram per cubic metre [limit]," he says.The first, he says, was an understanding that "most pollution is local" and in the inner west of Sydney, it was coming from local industry and roads. A spokesperson for NSW Transport says air quality along the Parramatta Road corridor has improved by 10 to 15 per cent since the opening of the WestConnex M4 tunnels, with less traffic on surface roads.
The Grattan Institute report showed that pre-1996 trucks emit 60 times the particulate matter and eight times the nitrogen oxides of a new truck.New trucks can cost $250,000, but an old truck can sometimes be purchased for a fifth of that cost.And while the longer-haul routes require newer, more reliable trucks, older trucks are essentially shifted to shorter, inner-city runs where they can keep going for years.
The trucking industry wants to see a Federal Government plan to transition the country's ageing truck fleet to cleaner vehicles.The trucking leader says he understands the industry needs to change, but he wants governments to create a clear transition plan for the industry, with incentives for companies, before regulations come into play.Mr Anderson isn't the only one calling for governments to do more.
The Federal Government says Australia generally has good air quality and that state and territory governments have primary responsibility for managing air quality.
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