Last weekend I was asked about the brown haze in the sky over Gladstone.

Around this time of year there is often a light orange or brown layer in the air, usually over the ocean. This discolouration is caused by NOx, which is pronounced “Knox” as in Fort Knox. NOx is chemical shorthand for a group of several types of nitrogen oxides.

When I talk to Gladstone residents, they often raise concerns about dust.

These community concerns are therefore a major focus of the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone project team, which reports back later this year. In the meantime to make sure that it is minimised, industry has continued to reduce the dust that comes from their sites.

As the release of the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone (CHAG) report draws nearer, I often hear concerns expressed about dust in Gladstone. The fact that this issue has been debated for many years shows that dust is a challenging issue in Gladstone.

In a town like Gladstone where industry has a high profile, our community is very mindful of air quality. So more than two years ago community uncertainty about the health of Gladstone’s air led more ...

After being one of the founding directors of the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) Brian Cooper, the General Manager of Boyne Smelters Limited, is leaving the Gladstone region. Brian will take up a new role as the Chief Executive Officer at the Tomago Smelter, northwest of Newcastle.

If the crowd at last weekend’s EcoFest was any guide, the Gladstone community is extremely interested in environmental issues and sustainable development.

I was amazed at the variety, quality and number of the EcoFest displays. They were a testament to the community spirit of the Gladstone region. So if you didn’t make it this year, I would strongly recommend making a point of going next year because I’m sure that it will be even better.

EcoFest is a fun family friendly event held at Gladstone’s Tondoon Botanic Gardens each year. 

Last year’s EcoFest was a great success and, according to the Observer, attracted over 10,000 people. This level of community involvement and the quality of the stalls was a credit to the Gladstone community.

The Clean and Healthy Air Management Program (CHAMP) has increased industry’s focus on their environmental performance.

Gladstone Industry Leadership Group employees have collectively suggested and shared well over 150 CHAMP ideas. One example is an idea to reduce alumina dust emissions from Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL).

In September 2009 the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) collectively launched an employee engagement initiative called the Clean and Healthy Air Management Program (CHAMP). CHAMP puts additional focus on industry environmental performance by building upon the improvement processes used for industry’s other priorities, safety and process efficiency.

As an example of its success, more than 150 easy to implement CHAMP ideas or quick wins have been suggested by GILG employees and shared between all GILG sites.

Across Australia communities have become more aware of the industry air emissions in their region and this has led to increased community concern and discussion about the potential health impacts of these emissions.

If you are one of these concerned people, the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI) is an important source of the air emissions information needed to have an informed discussion. This Federal Government information is publically available at www.npi.gov.au.

Last week many Gladstone residents saw the Four Corners report on coal mining in the upper Hunter Valley, "A Dirty Business”. The story, which is available at www.abc.net.au/4corners, highlighted more ...

When I’m worried about something, I can choose to either ignore it or find out more. If it’s important to me, I usually opt to find out more by researching and discussing the issue with knowledgeable people. This way I can decide whether my concern is warranted and if I should act.

As a new-comer to Gladstone for me, like many other new and longer term Gladstone residents, air quality is one of these issues.

The members of the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) accept that our community’s environmental performance expectations continually evolve. GILG members acknowledge that industry needs more ...

In September 2009 the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) decided to launch an employee engagement initiative called the Clean and Healthy Air Management Program (CHAMP).

Gladstone industry has a strong culture of continuous improvement in safety and process efficiency. GILG has used CHAMP to build upon this history, put additional focus on environment performance and broaden our site specific thinking to a more collective approach.

The Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) was established so that industry could collectively respond to common issues.

A GILG survey in April last year and a Queensland Health survey in 2008 both found that about 75% of Gladstone residents were concerned about the potential health impacts of industry air emissions.

Like most people, filling out surveys or doing telephone surveys is not my idea of fun.

However, surveys are by far the best way for government and industry to build a clear and balanced picture of what is important to the Gladstone community.

A great thing about this year’s EcoFest was that it gave Gladstone residents a chance to talk to industry managers about industry issues.

One such topic was the Air Quality Index printed on the second page of the Observer. Without exception the people I spoke to thought that it was a great idea and most found knowing more about the quality of Gladstone’s air very reassuring.

A strength of the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) is that it enables GILG members to talk with the Gladstone community using a united voice.

This unity is critical to our members’ response to community concern about the health impacts of industry air emissions. GILG’s members have worked together to build a collective response to these concerns which we think will be far more effective than had each of these members acted individually

As I highlighted last week, the highest priority for the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) remains to respond to community concern about the potential impacts of industry air emissions.

For industry as well as the Gladstone community, the key to this response is the final independent report of the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone (CHAG) project.
 

Welcome to the first Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) column for 2010. I hope that you had a joyous and safe Christmas and New Year.

After a busy 2009 to establish GILG, what will our focus be in 2010?

The first year of the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) has been a busy one. The establishment of the group has taken tremendous behind the scenes effort. To the very many community and industry more ...

As you know, Queensland Health has released an Interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA). While conclusive findings cannot be drawn from this preliminary report, it was still reassuring.

However, one question more ...

The Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) members have welcomed the release of the Clean and Healthy Air for Gladstone (CHAG) Interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA). Rightly, the overall HRA process more ...

On 5 November 2009 Queensland Health released an Interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA). This interim report was based upon air monitoring data collected up until June 2009 and broadly assessed the risks more ...

On 5 November 2009 Queensland Health released an interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA) which broadly assessed the risks posed to the Gladstone community by emissions from industrial and other sources. more ...

In November 2009 Queensland Health will release an interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA) which will broadly assess the risks posed to the Gladstone community by emissions from industrial and other sources. more ...

In November 2009 Queensland Health will release an interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA) which will broadly assess the risks posed to the Gladstone community by emissions from industrial and other sources. more ...

In November 2009, Queensland Health plans to release an interim Health Risk Assessment (HRA) with the final Assessment due in the second half of 2010. This report will evaluate whether industry and community more ...

Community surveys by Queensland Health and the Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) have both found that about 75 per cent of Gladstone people are concerned that industry emissions may potentially more ...

From my experience, Australians expect honesty in their dealings and detest spin.

The Gladstone Industry Leadership Group (GILG) Code of Conduct is a public statement that dictates the standards

I have often been asked: “What happens when an industry breaches its environmental licence?” and “Does industry just get away with it?”

Regardless of industry’s significant more ...

Queensland Health and GILG community surveys have shown that about 75% of the Gladstone Community are concerned about the potential impacts of industry on their health. Are you concerned and, if so, what triggers this concern and what can Industry do to reduce this concern?