There have been 2 instances (18th November, 4th February) in the past months when the levels of dust recorded at the Linwood Quarry TEOM dust monitors exceeded the maximum allowed 24 hour average of 50mg per cubic metre.

Dust levels recently have been concerningly high. As an example during the 6 day period 3rd to 8th Feb the average recorded at the Marino monitor was 41.8 (see attached graph). Crushing activities are not isolated to weekdays! There are a number of homes located within 200 metres of the crushing plant, the main source of dust emanating from the quarry.

Particulate matter in the atmosphere poses a very significant health hazard – with symptoms often not evident for many years. Dust is recognised as a major contributor to lung and heart disease.
Our new local member of State Parliament Rt Hon Mr A Dighton has been informed about the issue and has passed on those concerns.

The issue of dust generation at the Boral Linwood Quarry has been ongoing for many years. It would seem that unless there is significant community action there will be no change for the better.

As a call to action, take the time to voice your concern by emailing:

black@parliament.sa.gov.au (Mr. Dighton)

community@boral.com.au (Boral)

and cc marinodust@gmail.com.au as well.

Communities working collaboratively get results as has been seen with Darren Balhache’s fine work towards upgrades at the Marino Railways Station and Scholefield Road intersection.

Peter Melnyk

melnpe55@gmail.com
0417829201

In 2021-22, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and residents in Marino participated in a 12 month study, to determine whether dust in the community exceeded national health guidance levels. A dust monitoring network was co-designed with local residents in a community working group, and real-time air quality and meteorological data was available during the study period.

 The key findings of the study are available from the final presentation, and further information, including previous presentations are available from the EPA’s webpage.

 If you have any questions please contact engage.epa@sa.gov.au or phone (08) 8204 2004.

Boral have a range of state of the art air monitors on the site and in conjunction with the EPA regularly report on the dust generated by operations relative to the background dust levels and weather. Generally they are understood to comply with the EPA requirements. However the experience by many residents is that the dust still impacts at a nuisance and health level.

Some residents are concerned about the small particulate dust size (unseen pm 2.5) which has proven to have serious health impacts in other industrial environments. Boral and the EPA are satisfied that the levels are within the current guidelines. However there is some anecdotal evidence that there may be a cluster of respiratory related ailments in the immediate community. However there is no substantiated evidence of this or the cause.

Because of the ongoing impacts of Dust the Association has lobbied the EPA and with the assistance of local member David Speirs and Marion Council, the EPA agreed to relocate some of their monitors from Hallett Cove to Marino and conduct an independant  Dust Study incluidng consukltation with a registered group of volunters.

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.

 As an operating quarry, Boral do undertake blasting approximately once a fortnight. The impact of this in terms of vibration is felt locally and the resultant dust plume can be seen and depending on the wind direction drift onto local residential areas.

The evidence is usually a fine grey dust on external surfaces and if windows are open internal. Boral measure and record the vibration impacts as part of their statutory monitoring and they issue notice of the results after every blast day to those registered for Blast notices.

If you wish to be added to the notifications you can join the 5049 Coastal Community Association. We’ll also keep you informed of public meetings about quarry activities. Boral will notify you via email when Linwood Quarry is blasting. 

The Association has an ongoing commitment to ensure Quarry activities has the least impact on nearby residents as possible.

We liaise with Quarry management via their Joint Working Group (JWG) Meetings and bring forward resident concerns to them. The Joint Working Group has met irregularly over the recent period, but you can go to Boral Website here for latest news and terms of reference. The latest JWG meeting notes May 2021 can be found here  ​

As an Association we have a long history of interacting with the Mine and advocating on behalf of the community.  The Association made a submission outlining our concerns on behalf of the community to address our present and future concerns. With approval the expanded  quarry (mine) will be operating in our area for another 100+ years, so it was important to make sure the approvals include strict conditions to manage the mine with the least impact on the local environment and our health. This is particularly important as the population is likely to double over the next 10-15 years with the Seacliff Park (Cement Hill) development

We made a submission outlining our concerns on behalf of the community which we hope will address our present and future concerns including:

• Dust emanating from the quarry operations.
• Noise and dust coming from the crushers.
• Ineffective watering during the summer months in particular.
• Impact on the pathways of underground streams.
• Impact on the surface of the already undulating Ocean Boulevard.
• Rehabilitation of the quarry site.
• Effects of blasting on current residences.
• Possible effects on the proposed residential and commercial development on the entrance to Marino (Cement Hill)

Many residents in our coastal area have been concerned by the sounds of seismic rumblings and bangs in recent times. Linwood Quarry inform us in advance of their dates and times of blasting in the quarry. We have discovered through discussions with Boral and local residents that the loud noises and rumbles occurring outside these dates are most likely to be created when the Port Wakefield Army Barrack’s firing range are conducting exercises.  The impacts are transmitted through the shared geological strata and air borne noise depending on weather conditions.

That is not to say that there are natural rumbles in our area: here is a site that provides information on earthquake/seismic activity:
Earthquake monitoring network
The South Australian seismic network