News From Fran Southern
– 5049 Marino Resident and JWG rep.
An EPA Dust study information meeting was held at the Marino Rocks Social on 23rd May.Approximately 20 people attended with Boral sending 2 persons and EPA attendees numbering approximately 10.
The usual complaints were heard about dust especially bad in the months of March and April 2022
The EPA dust monitors mirrored the Boral monitors mostly and showed that dust was definitely falling on Marino residents. All dust was of concern, the Chief Health Officer said, but did not comment on quarry dust especially.
A resident of Spinks Rd said she had been diagnosed with lung problems. It was also noted that another resident had emphysema and told not to return to Marino. Her lung capacity improved when she had moved away from Marino.
The group discussed where the dust had emanated from and talked about the crusher and the mounds. It was noted by Boral that the crusher is receiving new parts to help, but the mounds are still a problem. A memeber of the community reminded the group of the effective barrier sytem put on mounds on Barrow Island.
There was a concensus in the community members that the national standards should not be applied to a residential area as close to as mine as Marino.
From EPA web page about 23 May session:
The EPA’s lead air quality scientist Dr Pushan Shah presented the latest air quality monitoring results from the dust study.
Following the presentation EPA, SA Health, DEM and Boral staff participated in a Q&A session answering community members questions on a range of subjects including; how the data is interpreted, monitoring equipment capabilities, health impacts, current mitigation and management actions undertaken by Boral, recent legislative changes by DEM and compliance management by the EPA.
The EPA is working with the lead regulator, the Department for Energy & Mining, to review Linwood’s current dust control strategy against their approvals for the site. This review will also identify possible improvements that Boral can make to better manage dust from the site.