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2.6 Management strategies

Strict management and reduction strategies have kept dioxin levels at the three NSW sites low enough by international standards not to pose a credible health risk. Nonetheless, it is important to continue the current strategies and programs to minimise dioxin emissions into the future.

For the past 10 years, in line with international awareness of the environmental risks posed by dioxins, NSW has had a number of strategies to reduce dioxin emissions.

EPA measures

The EPA has a comprehensive regulatory system which limits pollutant emissions from recognised industrial sources. Pollution reduction programs negotiated with licensees eliminate or ensure compliance with current goals for dioxins.

Specific examples of reduction programs and other EPA actions to curb dioxins include the following:

• The sinter plant at BHP's Port Kembla steelworks has been a major source of dioxin emissions. However emissions have fallen continually over the past 10 years. By using cleaner production approaches, BHP halved dioxin emissions from its stacks in 1997. Since then, pollution reduction programs have cut its emissions a further 15%. BHP's environment protection licence includes a $93-million plan to reduce dioxin and other pollutant emissions from the sinter plant by the end of 2002.
• The Waverley-Woollahra municipal waste incinerator at Zetland was shut down in 1997, ending its emissions of dioxins and furans. The EPA undertook comprehensive studies of the emissions from the incinerator over several years and negotiated a program to upgrade the facility with the operator. The timetable for upgrading was not met and the EPA revoked the licence for the facility to process waste. An objection by the operator to the revocation was dismissed in the Land and Environment Court, resulting in closure of the incinerator.
• In 1993, sewage sludge incinerators at North Head and Malabar which emitted dioxins were closed. The EPA directed the operator of these incinerators to meet more stringent emission standards because of concerns about their impact on public health. The operator chose to close the facilities rather than meet the revised standards.
• The EPA issued a draft notice to Clinical Waste Australia (CWA) indicating that the licence for its medical waste facility at Silverwater would be amended to set tougher emission limits for dioxin, equivalent to world's best practice. CWA has now committed to achieving a reduction in the amount of waste being burnt at the plant, which will cut dioxin emissions by up to 80% from the site. Approval has been granted by Auburn Council for construction of new plant to house an alternative process for handling the waste.

The EPA also evaluates new industrial developments and reviews the performance of existing facilities which could be a source of dioxins. Where appropriate, it will require reduction and monitoring programs to eliminate or control such sources in line with contemporary international practice.

Other industrial changes

Recent changes in industrial processes, while mostly occurring for other reasons, have also reduced dioxin emissions in NSW.

• As a result of a concerted program of review and decommissioning, all hospital bio-medical waste incinerators in NSW have ceased operation. This has reduced total emissions across the State and removed regional point sources in many country towns.
• The closure by BHP of its sinter plant at the Newcastle steelworks reduced another significant regional source of dioxins.
• In 1998 Orica Australia closed its ethylene di-chloride plant at Botany in Sydney, which had emitted dioxins as a by-product.

Motor vehicle controls

Combustion of leaded petrol in motor vehicles is a source of dioxins. After the introduction of unleaded fuel to NSW in 1986, the proportion of leaded petrol declined; it was phased out completely in January 2002. The removal from sale overseas of leaded fuel has clearly demonstrated a reduction in dioxin emissions from vehicles and this is expected to be repeated in Australia. Diesel vehicles are the remaining problem area for dioxins from road transport.

Hybrid electric vehicles and those which use some alternative fuels, such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), do not emit dioxins. The Government will continue to evaluate and promote, where appropriate, low emission vehicles.

In November 2001 the Government announced the NSW Cleaner Vehicles Action Plan. The plan aims to improve air quality in NSW by reducing fuel consumption, dependence on oil, and greenhouse gas emissions through development of a market for new cleaner vehicle models.

Domestic sources

Domestic behaviour can also have an impact on emissions of dioxins. A combination of regulatory and educational initiatives is being applied to reduce or eliminate domestic sources of dioxins. EPA regulatory controls include:

• banning the use of incinerators in high-rise apartment buildings from 1 September 2001
• banning backyard burning in specific local government areas, particularly in metropolitan areas which face greater problems from smoke pollution
• a review of the Clean Air (Domestic Solid Fuel Heaters) Regulation 1997, which reduced the limit for emissions of solid particles from new heaters from 5.5 to 4 grams per kilogram from July 2001.

EPA education programs have:

• provided practical advice on the correct use of woodheaters to reduce emissions through the environmental guideline Selecting, Installing and Operating Domestic Solid Fuel Heaters (EPA 1999) and a woodsmoke website
• promoted the use of better home heating fuels and the phasing out of oil and wood heaters, especially through the Woodsmoke Reduction Program which gives financial assistance to people in Armidale, the Blue Mountains, Cooma, Lithgow, Orange and Tumut who agree to replace old woodheaters with cleaner alternatives (see Section 4.7 for more on the program).

National and international initiatives

In May 2001 Australia signed an international agreement, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Treaty, which requires, among other actions, development of a National Dioxin Program. Australian Environment Ministers, including NSW, recently agreed to such a program which will address these concerns in three stages:

• gather data on sources and bioaccumulation of dioxin
• assess health impacts
• develop a national strategy to manage dioxins based on the findings of the earlier stages.