Nepc annual Report 2014-15

Identification of Sites

The analysis for identification and prioritisation of Stage 1 and Stage 2 sites, as required by the NEPM, was limited to the populous areas of South East Queensland. Two types of locations were identified as having the most potential for significant population exposure to air toxics—built-up residential areas close to heavily trafficked roads with significant congestion problems (e.g. Woolloongabba); and built up residential areas close to major petrochemical industries (e.g. Wynnum).

Table 1: Stage 2 Sites and Proposed Monitoring Program

Location of Stage 2 Sites	Air toxics with possible elevated levels	Air toxics to be monitored	Proposed timeframe for monitoring	Estimate of size of population likely to be exposed and identification of susceptible groups
Woolloongabba	Benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, benzo[a]pyrene	Benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, benzo[a]pyrene	2013–14	Residential population of 4,700; employed population of 10,000; inner city close to major roads and freeway
Wynnum	Benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, benzo[a]pyrene	Benzene, toluene, xylene, formaldehyde, benzo[a]pyrene	2016	Residential population of 12,200; close to major petrochemical industries

Reporting of Monitoring of Air Toxics

Monitoring of air toxics at Stage 2 sites in South East Queensland during the 2014–15 reporting period was limited to measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (including benzo[a]pyrene) at the Woolloongabba roadside monitoring site. Levels of benzene, toluene, xylenes and formaldehyde were monitored using an alternative differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) technique at ambient air quality monitoring network sites at Springwood in South East Queensland and in central Gladstone. The primary air toxics emission source at the Woolloongabba and Springwood sites was motor vehicles. The Gladstone region contains a number of industrial facilities, including metals processing and power generation, and a major port. Results from these three monitoring sites for the 2014 year are provided below. Data collected (Tables 2 to 6) indicate that air toxics levels in Woolloongabba, Springwood and Gladstone are well below the NEPM investigation levels.
Table 2: Monitoring Results for Benzene

Site	Springwood	Central Gladstone
Monitoring method	DOAS	DOAS
Period of monitoring	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14
Number of valid results	332	221
Maximum 24-hour average concentration	0.0014 ppm	0.0017 ppm
Annual average concentration (as arithmetic mean)	0.0009 ppm	0.0012 ppm
Arithmetic Standard Deviation of 24-hour average concentrations	0.0002 ppm	0.0002 ppm
Number of times monitoring investigation level exceeded*	0	0

^a monthly, rather than 24-hour, sampling was conducted at Woolloongabba
Table 3: Monitoring Results for Toluene

Site	Springwood	Central Gladstone
Monitoring method	DOAS	DOAS
Period of monitoring	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14
Number of valid results	340	317
Maximum 24-hour average concentration	0.0216 ppm	0.0049 ppm
Annual average concentration (as arithmetic mean)	0.0043 ppm	0.0021 ppm
Arithmetic Standard Deviation of 24-hour average concentrations	0.0017 ppm	0.0006 ppm
Number of times monitoring investigation level exceeded*	0	0

^a monthly, rather than 24-hour, sampling was conducted at Woolloongabba
Table 4: Monitoring Results for Xylenes

Site	Springwood	Central Gladstone
Monitoring method	DOAS	DOAS
Period of monitoring	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14
Number of valid results	338	319
Maximum 24-hour average concentration	0.0210 ppm	0.0220 ppm
Annual average concentration (as arithmetic mean)	0.0055 ppm	0.0093 ppm
Arithmetic Standard Deviation of 24-hour average concentrations	0.0019 ppm	0.0023 ppm
Number of times monitoring investigation level exceeded*	0	0

^a monthly, rather than 24-hour, sampling was conducted at Woolloongabba
Table 5: Monitoring Results for Formaldehyde

Site	Springwood	Central Gladstone
Monitoring method	DOAS	DOAS
Period of monitoring	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14
Number of valid results	342	328
Maximum 24-hour average concentration	0.0163 ppm	0.0034 ppm
Annual average concentration (as arithmetic mean)	0.0084 ppm	0.0020 ppm
Arithmetic Standard Deviation of 24-hour average concentrations	0.0025 ppm	0.0005 ppm
Number of times monitoring investigation level exceeded*	0	0

^a monthly, rather than 24-hour, sampling was conducted at Woolloongabba
Table 6: Monitoring Results for Benzo[a]pyrene

Site	Woolloongabba
Monitoring method	TO-13A
Period of monitoring	1 Jan 14 to 31 Dec 14
Number of valid resultsa	12
Maximum monthly average concentration^a	0.083 ng/m^3
Annual average concentration (as arithmetic mean)	0.028 ng/m^3
Arithmetic Standard Deviation of monthly average concentrations^a	0.021 ng/m^3
Number of times monitoring investigation level exceeded	0

^a monthly, rather than 24-hour, sampling was conducted at Woolloongabba