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.

This community concern led to the formation of the Clean and Health Air for Gladstone (CHAG) project. The CHAG project includes an in-depth Queensland Health analysis of one to two years air monitoring data from six Gladstone sites.

The final CHAG report, which is due in mid-2010, will rigorously assess the air quality of our region.

This assessment is critical to Gladstone. Industry monitoring shows that site emissions are at levels regarded as safe by national and international regulators. However, the CHAG report will provide environmental regulators and the community with an understanding of the combined impact of all industry, commercial and residential emissions.

The five members of GILG emit the majority of the common air contaminants monitored by the Department of Environment and Resource Management in Gladstone. 

GILG members are therefore deeply concerned that the Gladstone community is worried about industry air emissions. They are committed to addressing these worries and see the CHAG report as an opportunity to identify and act on any issues that were not previously apparent.

So in September 2009 GILG collectively launched an employee engagement initiative called the Clean and Healthy Air Management Program or CHAMP. Industry employees have an in-depth understanding of site operations gained from many years of experience. So they are ideally positioned to identify areas where industry can do better.

CHAMP was therefore designed to complement existing site improvement processes and give additional encouragement for GILG member employees to put forward any environmental improvement ideas.

In the next few columns I’ll explain more about CHAMP, the ideas that have been gathered and the positive changes that have been delivered.

If you have any questions on CHAMP or air quality concerns that you would like me to answer, please go to our forum topic at www.gilg.com.au.

If you would like to have your say and don't know how, please click on this link which shows you how to register and make a comment, anonymously if you wish.

I look forward to hearing from you soon, cheers, Kurt.

read more