Gundagai
Air Emissions
What the results tell us for Gundagai
In 1999–2000 five substances emitted to air in Gundagai Shire were reported to the National Pollutant Inventory (NPI). The number decreased to zero for the reporting period 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2004.
One facility—North Eastern Petroleum Pty Ltd (Gundagai Depot)—reported air emissions to the NPI in 1999–2000. It is classified as 'Metal, Mineral and Chemical Wholesaling' and is a low emitter of all reported substances relative to other facilities in Australia.
This is the first report of air emissions in the Council's State of the Environment reports.
For comprehensive details of air emissions reported in Gundagai Shire such as the types and quantities of substances emitted, see the National Pollutant Inventory website.
About the data
This explanatory note was taken from the NPI website at www.npi.gov.au maintained by the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage (2005).
The NPI holds emission data reported by industrial facilities, and diffuse data collected by participating jurisdictions. Industrial facilities are required to report emissions to the NPI if they use more than a certain amount of one or more substances on the NPI reporting list, or consume more than a specified amount of fuel or electric power, or emit more than a certain amount of nitrogen or phosphorus to water. Diffuse data sources include smaller facilities that are not required to report, and mobile and non-industrial sources such as transport, domestic activities and for water catchments and land use type.
The techniques used to estimate emissions in the NPI have been variously approved by Commonwealth, State and Territory environment agencies but it is important to note that the accuracy of these estimates is likely to vary according to the technique used. For the diffuse data in particular, comparative analysis of the data may be misleading, because jurisdictions may have used different approved estimation techniques. Industrial facilities estimate emissions using a technique described in an appropriate NPI handbook, or else otherwise approved.
The listed substances span a wide range of toxicities. A small number may not necessarily imply an insignificant emission: for example, a small emission of a highly toxic substance may be of more concern than a larger emission of a substance of relatively lower toxicity. All emission amounts reported here have been rounded to two significant figures; totals may differ from the sum of the individual amounts on these reports because of this rounding. Some minor discrepancies may also occur with catchment and airshed data, particularly when queried at a fine spatial resolution such as a postcode. This is because these data are collected at varying spatial resolutions.
References
Department of Environment and Heritage (2005) National Pollutant Inventory, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed 20 April 2005, www.npi.gov.au.