Air Quality Impact Assessments are an important environmental aspect, which is legally required to be managed by various government and regulatory bodies. They are particularly important for:

• Development Approvals (EIS, Council Development Applications ‘DA’, Commonwealth Approvals) for mines, industry, and other developments.
• Licencing – Regular environmental assessment as required for air quality compliance
• Construction – Dust management plans, and construction dust monitoring
• Mining Industry – Coal and silica dust monitoring for OHS.

Vipac offers the following services to support the management of air quality impacts:

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring

Vipac offers a range of services in the monitoring of a range of parameters including:

• Meteorology
• Dust
• Odour
• Criteria Pollutants
• Toxics

Real Time Web Based Dust Management System

There is an obligation under a wide range of legislation to manage environmental impacts during construction and operation.

We can assist with web based remote dust monitoring, updated hourly with email alerts.

Issues:

• Wind blown dust
• Vehicle activity
• Blasting

Impacts:

• Loss of Amenity
• Community Health Impacts
• Vegetation Impacts

Standards and Guidelines:

• NEPM
• State Government
• Local Government

Development Applications & Odour Assessments

Air quality assessments are becoming more commonly required by Councils for sensitive developments in urban areas, those close to major roads and pollutant emissions sources, as well as those which may contribute relatively large amounts of traffic to existing road networks.

Air quality assessments for Development Applications have one or both of the following elements:

• Site Suitability: to determine whether a particular site is suitable for residential development by virtue of its proximity to a major source of pollutant or odour emissions
• Impact Assessment: to determine whether the development is likely to result in a deterioration of local air quality.

Dispersion Modelling

Vipac operates several software packages for prediction and measurement analysis. These models utilise data on terrain, land use, background air quality and appropriate meteorology to provide an assessment acceptable to regulatory agencies.

An overview of our systems and their use is given below.

• Caline 4 – General roadway impacts on pedestrians and those living or working near free flowing roads.
• Cal3qhc – General roadway impacts on pedestrians and those living or working near intersections with congestion (e.g. traffic lights)
• Ausplume – Industrial stacks, Wastewater treatment facilities, dust from Mines and a range of other sources
• Calpuff – As above with the addition of a more complex wind module.
• TAPM – An advanced 3 dimensional model that is used to assess large industrial facilities and regional impacts.
• Fluent – Computational Fluid Dynamics Software for predicting fine scale air quality impacts in complex environments (carparks, central business districts, etc.)

Vipac’s dispersion modelling allows for appropriate treatment for a range of situations. From roadside pollution, industrial sources in the near-field and where complex terrain is in the area.

Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

Vipac Engineers & Scientists provide indoor air quality monitoring for a variety of air pollutants including:

• Carbon monoxide
• Carbon dioxide
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Volatile organic compounds
• Formaldehyde
• Pesticides
• Particulates
• Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
• Lead
• Ozone
• Radon
• Mould
• Fungi
• Bacteria

Vipac offers a complete Indoor Air Quality service including monitoring, source removal or substitution, workplace or work process modification, ventilation improvement, air cleaning or administrative measures.

Vipac provides professional ventilation investigations (system design check, proportion of outdoor air, periods of operation, maintenance check and other ventilation aspects). We also offer comprehensive thermal conditions monitoring and development recommendations for human comfort in the workplace.

Work Health & Safety Assessments

Vipac offers a variety of air quality, noise, and vibration consultancy solutions to assist its customers comply with Work Health & Safety Codes of Practices. These include;

• Assessments and recommendations as per Australian Standards to improve overall air quality.
• Bespoke management plans for council submissions and suitable development application reports.

Specific to Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS) dust exposure management, Vipac provides;

• The expert monitoring of typical dust control methods such as water suppression or on-tool dust extraction.
• Ensuring all persons at risk of exposure to RCS dust are adequately safeguarded with dust monitoring of protective equipment.
• Environmental RCS, coal, and other inhalable dust monitoring to ensure all dust controls are effective.
• The health monitoring of workers with clearly defined limits as their exposure based on their level of risk.
• Both short-term measurements or long-term monitoring.