Emissions spotlight on Kwinana

While representing about 12 per cent of the state’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, land, air and water emissions from nine of the 12 full-member Kwinana Industrial Council facilities have remained steady, and in some cases decreased, during the past three years.

The KIC-commissioned report, undertaken by independent environmental consultants ENVIRON Australia Pty Ltd, highlighted that, from 2003 to 2005, the net greenhouse gas emissions for the nine full-member KIC facilities was generally stable at about six million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.

In addition, emissions data for Cockburn Cement’s Munster facility, which was available in 2004-05 and 2005-06, estimated that 2Mt CO2-e was emitted from that facility in each of those two years, making it a significant contributor to greenhouse gas levels within the KIA.

For the National Pollutant Inventory-listed substances, of which select indicative substances were reported, the KIC facilities exhibited an overall stable or decreasing trend from 2002 to 2006.

Over that period, four NPI-listed substances exhibited an increasing trend in air emissions, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide and hydrochloric acid.

Only four full-member KIC facilities reported emissions of NPI-listed substances to water over the period 2002 to 2006, with most emissions exhibiting an overall downward trend.

The report also highlighted a number of KIC member case studies detailing emissions reduction projects undertaken to minimise environmental impacts by industry. Among these are CSBP’s innovative reduction of stockpiled gypsum and BP’s application of filter technologies to reduce particulate emissions.

Alcoa World Alumina Australia, BP, Coogee Chemicals, CSBP, Fremantle Ports, Nickel West, WesFarmers, the Tiwest Joint Venture and Verve  Kwinana Power Station were the nine full-member KIC facilities to offer greenhouse gas emission data to the report, with Cockburn Cement submitting data for its Munster operation from 2004-05 onwards.

Additional air emissions data was provided by other full members, including HIsmelt, with the Nufarm Coogee joint venture facility not supplying any emissions data.

KIC associate members, including A&C Chemicals, Air Liquide WA, BOC Gases,  Cockburn Power Station, OneSteel Market Mills and Summit Fertilisers, were not included in the report.

The research was conducted in response to a request from the Town of Kwinana for industry to improve community awareness of its initiatives aimed at stemming the environmental impact of KIA’s facilities.

Town of Kwinana senior environmental health officer Nick Jones said the council had put in a request to the KIC for its members to report on their emissions reduction programs.

“The Kwinana Industries Council gave a commitment to encourage all its member industries to use the best available [emissions reduction] technology as much as they could,” Mr Jones told WA Business News.

“We’ve known that industry has made improvements, and we wanted to highlight what they’ve done in reducing emissions.”

Mr Jones said environmental reporting by the KIC will be an ongoing process, with members required to highlight their emissions and reduction initiatives as part of the KIC’s annual report.