By Lisa Cox and Natalie O'Brien
Australia's coal industry is driving increases in air pollution according to a new analysis which names coal mining as the dominant source of air particle pollution.
Environment and health groups are calling for new laws to curb rising pollution from toxic substances and "hefty penalties" for companies that breach pollution controls.
Environmental Justice Australia (EJA) has completed a three-month study that tracked five years of data voluntarily submitted by polluters to Australia's National Pollutant Inventory (NPI), which tracks emissions estimates for 93 toxic substances.
The study found coal was the leading source of particle pollution and there had been a doubling in coarse-particle pollution – called PM10 – from coal mining in the past five years.
Emissions of dangerous fine-particle pollution – called PM2.5 – from the coal industry had increased by 52 per cent in the same period, compared to a general increase across all industries of 14 per cent.
"We've failed to protect the communities of Australia," researcher James Whelan said.
"Air pollution kills more Australians than car accidents – that was noted by the Senate inquiry into the health impacts of air pollution in 2013."
The coal industry was responsible for 430,000 tonnes of coarse particle pollution in 2013-14, according to the NPI figures, a contribution of 47 per cent of the national total.
In NSW, the Hunter Valley has some of the most polluting coal mines in Australia, eclipsed only by Queensland's Bowen Basin, according to EJA's research.
Meanwhile, Victoria's Latrobe Valley is home to the nation's four highest polluting coal-fired power stations.
The Abbott government has been working toward a national air quality agreement to improve air quality and better regulate actions at a state and national level.
A discussion paper on curbing air pollution will be considered at the next meeting of federal and state environment ministers.
"Air quality in Australia is very good by world standards but it could be better, and over the coming decades as the population grows, we need to make sure that our air quality improves," a government spokesman said.
Environmental Justice Australia director of advocacy and research Nicola Rivers said the data should be "a wake-up call" for governments that had resisted calls for a crackdown on polluters.
"It's time for reform. Australia's lax air quality standards are regularly exceeded by big coal polluters who fail to implement best-practice pollution control measures, while regulators consistently turn a blind eye to the problem," she said.
The National Toxics Network (NTN) said the latest NPI data, published this week, also showed air pollution from unconventional gas activities is increasing and continuing to put the health of Australians at risk from thousands of tonnes of toxic chemicals pumped into the air every year.
Dr Mariann Lloyd-Smith, a senior advisor to the NTN, said the figures showed the volume of pollutants being emitted by the industry, including the cancer-causing chemical benzene, nitrous oxide and particulate matter.
"These are dangerous enough on their own but combine to make a really poisonous toxic soup," Dr Lloyd-Smith said.
"The adverse effects of particulate matter are well documented and there is no evidence of a safe level of exposure or a threshold below which no adverse health effects occur. The combined air pollutants can result in serious health impacts such as cancer, respiratory disease, heart attacks and stroke".
Australia is one of the few countries where the unconventional gas companies are required to self-report to the government's NPI. The NTN said the data over the past five years has shown the industry is a significant and increasing source of air pollution including particulates (PM10, PM2.5), nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCS), and the quantities are increasing.