‘Asleep at the wheel’: gas emissions spark criticism
Claims that toxic emissions from two gas power plants pose a low risk to human health cannot be trusted and require a public inquiry, an environmental watchdog says.
The Northern Territory Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” after publishing an independent human health risk assessment into under-reporting of emissions at gas giant INPEX’s Darwin plant.
The assessment, commissioned by the NT’s chief health officer, found levels of benzene and toluene (volatile organic compounds linked to health risks) emitted from the Ichthys LNG facility were below acceptable limits.
“This means that the risk to human health is very low,” the official said in a statement.
But Environment Center NT has called on authorities to hold a public inquiry into the two gas giants’ activities in the Port of Darwin.
The report follows community concerns about under-reporting of cancer-causing chemicals by INPEX and two decades of methane leaks from Santos, the centre’s chief executive Kirsty Howey told AAP.
Dr Howey called on authorities to hold a public inquiry into INPEX and Santos’ operations, saying claims of low risk to human health could not be trusted.
He said the report criticized INPEX’s documentation and quality controls, finding “serious non-compliance” and systematic under-reporting of emissions.
“This is a major breach of trust by INPEX and the NT EPA is once again asleep at the wheel,” he said.
“This is now such a serious and systemic problem that society does not like quick and dirty investigations behind closed doors, with narrow references that give the appearance of security.”
He said a rigorous, independent investigation into the worsening air pollution problem was needed to restore confidence in gas industry regulations.
Australian Medical Association NT president John Zorbas said the report supported the widely held view that independent monitoring was needed to ensure the air in Darwin was safe and prevent future under-reporting of emissions.
“Public trust has eroded and we cannot expect individual companies to act in our best interests,” he told ABC News.
More studies are needed to assess the cumulative impact of all emission sources and strengthen air quality monitoring, he said.
The NT government is reviewing licensing conditions for hydrocarbon facilities in the Darwin region to ensure health risks from air emissions are adequately addressed, it said.
INPEX said in October it had identified errors in the way emissions from the Ichthys LNG plant were calculated.
“INPEX takes full responsibility for these inadvertent errors reported to the NT EPA,” he said.
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