Air pollution is when there are harmful levels of gases or particles in the air. Polluted air can impact on our health and environment. Examples of air pollutants include carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and PM2.5 and PM10 particles.
Air pollution can come from factories, power stations, smelters, dry cleaners, cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains. Air pollution can also come from naturally occurring sources such as windblown dust. The quality of air can be affected in many ways by the pollution emitted from these sources.
In Victoria, air pollutants mainly come from industry, vehicles and wood burning.
You can help improve air quality in Latrobe by:
- reporting smoky car exhausts
- not burning green waste or other rubbish
- keeping your car well-tuned and maintained
- turning off your car engine when not moving
- using public transport, cycling or walking instead of driving, especially for short trips
- using wood heaters efficiently, or switching to gas or electric heating.
Why air monitoring is important
Air monitoring helps to evaluate the status of the atmosphere and provides air quality information to regulators, scientists, industry, and the public. The monitoring data can be used to assess trends in air quality, and to assess the impact of pollution generated by various activities.
Air monitoring can also help businesses to demonstrate compliance with certain regulatory requirements in their operating permits, as well as providing useful information to the business operators so that corrective action can be taken if necessary.
The Latrobe Valley Air Monitoring Network
Since it was established in 1977, the Network has gathered meteorological data at seven sites and monitored air quality at some 30 sites throughout the Valley. There are two urban and five rural sites which were commissioned during the 2014 Morwell coal mine fire to assess the air quality in the Latrobe Valley.
Visit the Latrobe Valley Air Monitoring Network website for a full list of sites and more information.