Assessment of aeolian dust properties in the Port Hedland Area and implications for future air quality management strategies

Substantial amounts of dust are generated in Port Hedland, an iron ore handling port 1300 km north of Perth in Western Australia, with particulates in the air exceeding acceptable levels on 55 days during 2010. In addition, the incidence of respiratory hospitalisation is 30% higher in the Port Hedland region than in the rest of Western Australia. The iron ore handling operations are currently suspected to be the major cause. However the contribution from other sources is poorly documented and as the industry grows in the area so too does the number of possible sources. This pilot study reports the chemical composition of dust samples from 8 collection sites located up to 20 km from industrial facilities and compares the composition to that from 6 potential source locations. The samples were collected between the months of July and September 2010. Ion Beam Analysis was used to determine the chemical composition of the aeolian samples and Inductively Coupled Plasma – Atomic Emission Spectroscopy was used to determine the composition of the source samples. Elevated levels of Fe have been observed at all aeolian sample sites indicating widespread dispersion of iron ore dust; however when considered relative to Al, there appears to be a discrepancy between the composition of aeolian samples and iron ore products. This suggests a significant contribution from sources such as dredge spoil areas and areas disturbed by other infrastructure projects. Further study to determine the elemental make up of dust from the Port Hedland area is being undertaken to determine the contribution made by the various emission sources in the area in the event that acceptable levels of airborne particulate matter are exceeded. This will provide an accurate means of designing air quality management and dust abatement strategies for the town and the industry groups as industrial expansion occurs.© 2011-Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealan

Soil and aquifer salinization: toward an integrated approach for salinity management of groundwater

Degradation of the quality of groundwater due to salinization processes is one of the key issues limiting the global dependence on groundwater in aquifers. As the salinization of shallow aquifers is closely related to root-zone salinization, the two must be considered together. This chapter initially describes the physical and chemical processes causing salinization of the root-zone and shallow aquifers, highlighting the dynamics of these processes and how they can be influenced by irrigation and drainage practices, thus illustrating the connectivity between soil and groundwater salinization. The processes leading to aquifer salinization in both inland and coastal areas are discussed. The roles of extractive resource industries, such as mining and coal bed methane operations, in causing aquifer salinization are also outlined. Hydrogeochemical changes occurring during salinization of aquifers are examined with the aid of Piper and Mixing Diagrams. The chapter then illustrates the extent of the problem of groundwater salinization as influenced by management and policy using two case studies. The first is representative of a developing country and explores management of salt-affected soils in the Indus Valley, Pakistan, while the second looks at a developed country, and illustrates how through monitoring we can deducecauses of shallow aquifer salinity in the Namoi Catchment of NSW, Australia. Finally, there is a section on integration and conclusions where we illustrate how management to mitigate salinization needs to be integrated with policy to diminish the threat to productivity that occurs with groundwater degradation

Aeolian dust: its potential role as a carrier of terrestrial salt in Australia.

Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisatio

Recognising terrestrially-derived salt (NaCl) in SE Australian dust

The terrestrial and oceanic salt (NaCl) components in 39 dust samples from eight sites across south eastern Australia have been calculated from chemical data derived by ion beam analysis (IBA). For samples identified as having a positive terrestrial salt ratio (TSR; i.e., the abundance of terrestrial salt relative to total salt expressed as a percentage), back trajectory analysis (estimation of the path of the wind affecting the site) was used to verify the likelihood of a terrestrial source for such salt. This procedure indicated that the terrestrial salt input to south eastern Australia is non-negligible compared to that of sea salt and the most likely sources of the terrestrial salt deposited in such area are the inland saline regions of the Lake Eyre and Murray Darling Basins. Terrestrial salt ratio values readily screen out the majority of samples for which a terrestrial salt component is unlikely. Thus, calculating the ratios to identify samples which are potentially influenced by terrestrial salt (e.g., prior to conducting a back trajectory analysis on such samples) appears to be useful, especially since such determinations can be done with small sample sets for which statistical analysis is not appropriate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved