REPORT CLEARS THE AIR

The Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue has released their 2024 Air Quality Report. The Report analyses and reports on key aspects of air quality across the Upper Hunter region [including concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10] for the 2024 calendar year.

Since 2019, The Dialogue has engaged independent consultants to analyse and report on air quality across the Upper Hunter. This analysis was in response to concerns from stakeholders about the perceived air quality in the Upper Hunter.

Through this analysis and reporting, the Dialogue aims to better inform stakeholders about air quality in the region by providing fact-based information that is independently prepared.

Each year, the Dialogue analyses publicly available data from 14 NSW Government Air Quality Monitoring Stations, including Singleton, Muswellbrook, Warkworth and Wybong. The analysis examines changes in concentrations of PM2.5 (find inhalable particles) and PM10 (coarse inhalable particles), along with the correlation between rainfall and particulate matter, and the relationship between raw coal production and PM10. This data is compared to data from all other NSW Government monitoring regions across NSW.

Based on feedback from the Dialogue’s 2024 Community Forum, the 2024 Report includes the number of exceedances of 24-hour average PM10 criterion by group, dating back to 2013. Reporting on exceedances provides an understanding of the short-term peaks in PM10, where these are located and how often the measurements are above the limit set by the NSW EPA.

Since it commenced in 2019, this analysis has found that air quality in the Upper Hunter has changed, but these changes are generally consistent with changes observed across the rest of NSW. Key findings in the 2024 update include:

• PM10 concentrations within the Upper Hunter are generally consistent with changes experienced across the rest of NSW, except for the Southwest slopes which showed a significant increase from 2023. This indicates that the PM10 concentrations in the Upper Hunter are consistent with regional particulate sources rather than by the contribution from mining operations in the Upper Hunter.
• PM2.5 remained stable in the UHAQMN in 2024, whereas there was a slight decrease in the remainder of NSW (decrease by 0.1 µg/m³).
• There is a strong negative correlation between annual rainfall and particulate matter concentrations across the UHAQMN (R value of -0.85).
• There appears to be no strong relationship between coal production and PM10 levels (R2 value of between 0.55 and 0.64). This indicates that PM10 fluctuations are more closely linked to weather events (such as ambient temperature and rainfall), rather than changes in raw coal production.
• There were no recorded exceedances of 24-hour PM10 in large population areas in the Upper Hunter (including Muswellbrook, Singleton and Aberdeen), and 7 recorded events in smaller communities (including Bulga, Camberwell, Jerrys Plains, Maison Dieu, Warkworth, Wybong). On average these exceedances are consistent with the exceedance averages across the rest of NSW.

To support the release of the 2024 Air Quality report, the Dialogue is hosting a Webinar on Thursday, April 10 between 12pm-1pm on Air Quality Monitoring and the 2024 Annual Report findings. Attendees will hear directly from the consultants who undertake this work and will have an opportunity to ask questions. We encourage all interested Upper Hunter community members to attend.

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