| What are BHPBIO doing to stop dust from their site? |
There are a number of dust reduction measures in place across BHPBIO sites;
Bulk ore conditioning: Specific amounts of water are added to the ore at the mines and the port. The moisture content of the ore impacts the amount of dust that the ore generates when it is moved around on site.
Water cannons, Capping sprays and Over belt sprays: These are all ways of maintaining water content in the ore to prevent finer particles from becoming excessively dry and becoming airborne.
Belt washers: Fine dust particles are removed from our conveyors or "belts" by a wet scraper system.
Dust extraction systems: Acting like big vacuum cleaners/air filtration devices, these are used in our car dumpers, crushing and screening buildings.
Revegetation programmes: Replanting of vegetation in cleared areas reduces dust lift off.
Preferential direct shipping of ore: Instead of the ore being tipped out of the ore cars (dumped) and stacked in the yard then reclaimed for loading a ship. The ore is dumped and then sent straight to the ship, reducing the amount of handling required and therefore the amount of dust generated.
Response procedure for high dust levels: When high dust levels are recorded at the Hospital monitor site control personnel receive a message on their computer screens alerting them and other site operations personnel. They then undertake a series of checks to identify and fix any site contributors.
Dust levels and dust reduction equipment reports are sent out to site daily, weekly & monthly for review by operational personnel.
The BHPBIO Dust steering committee meets quarterly to review progress against our targets and improvement plans.
BHPBIO growth plans will be instrumental in reducing the dust contribution from the Nelson point and Finucane Island sites, through equipment upgrades and relocations. |
| Where does the dust come from? |
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Dust from BHPBIO is generated as the ore travels through the plant, every time the ore is crushed, screened or simply moved about on conveyors the ore can break up and dry out generating dust. Other industries and developments in Port Hedland also make a contribution to dust levels, the largest contribution of dust however is currently from the BHPBIO sites.
Being in an arid environment we also have a natural contribution of dust from the open areas around our community and this is known as the background level.
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| What is "Background" dust and why is it significant? |
| Background dust is a measurement of what is naturally occurring in the region. It provides an indication of the dust levels you could expect if there were no industrial or community influences present.
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| Why is the dust worse at night? |
| It only "looks" worse as the street/artificial lighting allows us to see the dust in the atmosphere a lot more clearly than we can in daylight. The dust controls on BHPBIO sites are operational 24/7, for example water cannons which wet down the tops of stockpiles run on automated calculations and do not switch off over night.
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| Why is the dust worse some days compared with others? |
| What makes a dusty day? High temperatures, bushfires and strong winds are environmental factors we can have little influence over. However we can minimise the effect they have (at least for the strong winds and high temperatures) by increasing and maintaining the moisture content of ore as it travels through our plant or is held in stockpiles.
Faulty dust suppression equipment, maintenance shutdowns, and equipment not being operated appropriately (i.e. without sprays being activated) are operational factors we do have control over and work hard to reduce.
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| What is TSP and PM10? |
| These are definitions of the size of the particles that are being measured.
Total suspended particles or TSP describes all particles that are in the air.
PM10 defines particles that are 10 micrometers (0.001 of a millimetre) or less in diameter.
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| How do you collect and store the data from the monitoring stations? |
The real-time BAM data shown on the web is sent directly from the monitoring stations to the website and simultaneously to a BHPBilliton database (BIODATA) and operational control (PMAC) to allow site personnel to respond to dust events.
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| What are the potential health affects of dust? |
The Department of Health has undertaken a dust review investigating the possible health impacts of dust in Port Hedland. The press release with a link to the full report is on the Department of Health website: http://www.health.wa.gov.au/press/view_press.cfm?id=606.
Please note that BHPBIO is not responsible for the content of external web sites.
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| Does the community have a say? |
| BHBPIO holds community update and feedback sessions, as well as attending community consultative group meetings. These sessions are advertised in the local paper and through community groups.
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| Who do I call about any concerns I have? |
| You can call the BHPBIO hotline number 08 9173 6666 |
| How can I find out more information? |
| Daily dust results and tracking against BHPBIOs targets as set by the Department of Environment are published weekly in the local paper. |
