Memorandum. Summary of Review. Government. Enquiries David Wainwright Queensland. Telephone

Transcription

1 Memorandum Enquiries David Wainwright Queensland Government Telephone Phone Number Your reference Our reference Friday, 20 February 2015 Department of Science, nformation Technology, nnovation and the Arts To: From: Scott Sullivan Manager (Assessment) Program Manager Compliance North Queensland Compliance Environmental Services and Regulation Department of Environment and Heritage Protection David Wainwright, Director Air Quality Sciences, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Sciences, Science Division, Department of Science, nformation Technology and nnovation Subject: Review of the North Queensland Conservation Councii/Macquarie University 'Atmospherically Deposited Metal and Metalloid Contaminated Dust in nner Townsville, Queensland' Following is a review of the NQCC/Macquarie University report that was released by NQCC in Townsville on the 4 December The report describes the results of a six day study on metals in dust conducted by Macquarie University at six playgrounds located within four kilometres of the Townsville Port on behalf of the NQCC. This review considers: The sampling and the metal analysis methodology; The report's interpretation of the results; The results and the significance of the report's findings; Comparison with the metals data collected by the DSTA monitoring network. Summary of Review Sampling methodology is appropriate Metal analysis is appropriate (noting that the metal determination is based on the total metals extracted from the sample not the metals that are bioavailable The criteria used to assess the results is inappropriate o Daily metal deposition rates from only six days of sampling are compared to annual deposition rate standards (German Federal Emission Control Act) Page 1 of 10 Ground Level, Block C East, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Brisbane Queensland 4102 Australia Website: ABN

2 o o o Surface wipes and hand wipes being compared to a surface lead cleanup guideline used for internal surfaces which is based on criteria which would not apply to the study samples There is insufficient data (only 6 days of sampling) to determine if the metal exposure is sufficiently high to be likely to pose risks to public health The prevailing winds for the daily sampling were not from the direction of the Port for five out of the six parks. Summary of Review of DSTA's Townsville dust monitoring program Ambient total suspended particles (TSP), lead, arsenic and cadmium levels measured adjacent to the Port of Townsville (Coastguard) has complied with the Environmental Protection (Air) Policy 2008 (EPP (Air)) air quality objectives since monitoring began in TSP nickel annual average has remained steady over the last five years TSP lead annual average has increased over the last two years (87% in 2013 and 25% in 2014). The 2014 annual average is 60% of the EPP (Air) objective. Lead in dust deposition was only present at concentrations above the limit of reporting at the Coast Guard site and only on one month (August 2014) at the Townsville Sports Reserve site. Lead in dust deposition has increased over the last two years (84% in 2013 and 40% in 2014) at the Coast Guard site. 1. Background There has been a history of community concerns about dust impacts from the Port of Townsville. Community concerns have been focused on perceived nuisance impacts and health impacts from the operations conducted at the Port. A primary concern is the health effects of alleged heavy metals being released from the Port of Townsville. The former Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) has conducted two dust investigations in recent years, from and the Historical investigations The first Townsville Dust nvestigation was implemented in July Monitoring took place at complainants' residences in the Yarrawonga area of Townsville, and included dust deposition monitoring up to July 2006 and taking swipe samples at a number of residences. n 2007 the Townsville Dust nvestigation - Yarrawonga report was released. This report detailed the result of the investigation and concluded that dust levels did not constitute an environmental nuisance. Queensland Health also reviewed the report and concluded that monitoring results did not present any health risks The second study was implemented in March 2008 to obtain information on the levels of particles and heavy metals in the community surrounding the Townsville Port following ongoing community concerns about dust impacts from Townsville Port operations and perceived health and nuisance impacts. The program also sought to determine the contribution, if any, from Townsville Port operations to air pollutant levels in the surrounding community. Monitoring was conducted from March 2008 to August 2009 at three locations representative of residential exposure and one location on the western boundary of the Townsville Port to provide a Page 2 of 10

3 measure of maximum dust levels from activities within the Port. From September 2009 the number of monitoring sites was reduced to one residential site and the site on the western boundary of the Port. The Townsville Dust Monitoring Program determined that ambient total suspended particles (TSP), lead, manganese, arsenic, cadmium, vanadium and mercury levels in the Townsville community surrounding the Townsville Port complied with the Environmental Protection (Air) Policy 2008 (EPP (Air)) air quality objectives for the entire investigation period from March 2008 to December Deposited matter levels complied with the New Zealand dust deposition nuisance trigger level at all sites during the investigation period. Lead deposition at the monitoring sites did not exceed the assessment criteria considered to provide an adequate safeguard against elevation of blood lead levels. The monitoring program was unable to find any evidence that dust emissions from the Townsville Port contributed significantly to ambient levels of nickel, manganese and vanadium, or to dust deposition, at any monitoring site. While compliance with EPP (Air) objectives was maintained at all times, the monitoring program identified that dust emissions from Townsville Port activities did contribute to ambient levels of TSP, lead, copper, zinc, arsenic and cadmium, and to lead deposition, at the closest monitoring site, Coast Guard. Measurable contributions of these pollutants from Townsville Port activities at monitoring sites located further from the Port were only observed for lead. Queensland Health concluded that the total exposure to lead from inhalation and ingestion of dust in the residential community areas near the Townsville Port is highly unlikely to be associated with any known adverse health effects. 2. NQCC/Macquarie University Study With continuing community concern NQCC commissioned Professor Mark Taylor from the Macquarie University to undertake some research similar to studies conducted by Macquarie elsewhere in Australia to define if there is a problem with metals in dust in Townsville. The study was jointly funded by NQCC and the Macquarie University. The sampling was conducted by Macquarie University students between 26 September and 1 October A briefing for government and industry stakeholders (Townsville Port Authority, Townsville City Council, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Health, and BHP Billiton} was provided by NQCC and Mark Taylor on 4 December The study involved the sampling of soil and surface dust at six playgrounds within the vicinity (< 4 km) of the Port of Townsville. The study involved the measurement of arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel from: 2 or 3 soil samples taken from each of 6 parks (total of 12 soil samples) A surface wipe taken from 6 parks (measure of longer-term metal deposition however period of deposition is not known)- 6 samples Daily (24-hour) surface wipes taken from the same 6 parks for 5 days (27 September - 1 October) provides measure of metals deposited out over 24 hours.- 30 samples Pre-play and post-play hand wipes from 4 playgrounds for 5 days (27 September - 1 October} from 10 minute of child-simulated play samples. Page 3 of 10

4 , ~ Sampling Methodology Soil sampling The report mentions that soil samples were taken from a depth of 0-2 em in line with Standards Australia AS Guide to the investigation of potentially contaminated soil and deposited dust as a source of lead available to humans. Sampling is considered appropriate Surface wipe sampling The report mentions that dust wipes were collected using the method described in the American Society for Testing and Materials in ASTM E Standard Practice for Collection of Settled Dust Samples Using Wipe Sampling Methods for Subsequent Lead Determination. This is a 2003 version; the standard was revised in 2010 as ASTM E However the method used is appropriate. t would have been beneficial to have duplicate samples for at least one site to provide confidence in the reproducibility of the sampling as the standard indicates that the sampling result can vary between operators performing the collection and be prone to contamination Pre-play and post-play sampling The sampling method has been developed by Mark Taylor and his researchers and described in detail in other reports. Basically the sampling represents the amount of surface dust collected on a child's hand after 10 minutes of child-simulated play on the playground equipment. The dust collected on the hands was transferred to surface wipes by wiping the hands. t is noted that the metals measured from the wiped hands before playing (pre-play) is subtracted from the metals measured from the wiped hands after playing (post-play) to give a post-play increase. Surely the preplay results have been wiped from the hands and would not contribute to the post-play. The postplay measurement increase is the post-play levels. The pre-play measurements should not be subtracted from the pre-play measurements. 2.2 Metal analysis methodology Soil Soil analysis of the < 2 mm fraction was undertaken with a portable XRF instrument to screen the soils to ascertain if a higher precision laboratory analysis was warranted. The average concentrations of all metals for each Park were below the Contaminated Land NEPM guidelines for soils in recreational areas except Anzac Memorial Park where one sample did exceed the lead guideline. From the report no additional laboratory analysis appears to have been carried out on the soil samples Surface wipes Surface wipes were analysed by the National Measurement nstitute (NM), Sydney, for arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel using an NM method. Dust wipes were digested in a 3:1 ratio of aqua regia and measured for their metal concentrations. Appropriate blanks, duplicates, matrix spike and reference samples were also analysed to verify sample data quality. This is an appropriate and accepted method. Queensland Health Laboratories confirmed that using concentrated aqua regia would extract the total lead from the dust sample. t should be noted that the Australian Standard Method (AS/NZS :2014 : Methods for sampling and analysis of ambient air - Determination of suspended particulate matter - Particulate metals high or low volume sampler gravimetric collection - nductively coupled plasma (CP) Page 4 of 10

5 spectrometric method) for measuring lead in ambient air to compare against the NEPM ambient air quality standard for lead uses a weak aqua regia solution of 1:3 aqua regia:water. This extraction solution is used to extract only the bio-available lead. When interpreting the lead exposure from the surface wipe data, the bio-availablity of the lead present would need to be considered Lead isotopes From the limited information provided the methodology appears to be appropriate. 2.3 Discussion on results Soil As discussed above from the screening analysis only the Anzac Memorial Park average lead result exceeded the Contaminated Land NEPM guidelines for soils in recreational areas. The results for the two samples taken from the park were 1294 mg/kg and 126 mg/kg, the lead guideline is 600 mg/kg. The measurements taken are only a screening test; no accuracy is given for the portable XRF instrument. Further sampling would be required to confirm compliance with the guideline nitial surface wipes For the initial surface wipes taken on the 26 September the range of metal concentrations across the 6 parks was: Arsenic: 5-18 J..lg/m 2 Cadmium: 2-18J,.lg/m 2 Lead: llg/m 2 Nickel: llg/m 2 The ranges for the l evels of lead and nickel are similar to surface wipe sampling conducted by the former DERM in The concentrations ranged from: Lead: llg/m 2 Nickel: llg/m 2 The amount of metals collected with the initial surface wipes will depend on the distance of the Park to the Port, when the surface was last cleaned, when it rained last and the prevailing winds at the time when activities are occurring at the Port (ship loading) since the last cleaning or rain event. Table 1: nitial surface dust measurements of the 6 parks and the distance from the Port operations Park Distance to Arsenic Cadmium Lead Nickel Port (km) llg/mz llg/mz llg/m 2 llg/mz Anzac Memorial < Sister Kenny < Queens < Headland < Reid < Soroptimist < Page 5 of 10

6 ~ Jlfr Q.yglfJJLYL9.1J.Lt9JingJ._Q~Tf~. At first glance it appears that the Parks closest to the Port do not have the highest level of metals measured. Anzac Memorial Park is the closest Park to the Port but has the lowest levels of all the metals. Sister Kenny which is the second closest has the second lowest of arsenic, cadmium and nickel and third lowest of lead. An analysis of the prevailing winds since the last large rain event before the sampling ("'SO mm August 2014) shows an absence of winds in the E-NE direction which may explain the lower than expected levels for the Anzac Memorial Park and the Sister Kenny Park. The DSTA North Ward dust deposition site at the Townsville Sports Reserve is approximate 250 metres north-west from the Queens Park Oval Park. For September the lead, nickel, cadmium and arsenic were below the lower level of reporting. n August lead was measured at 193 1J.g/m 2 /day as a monthly average. Figure 1: Location of the six parks sampled with the wind rose from the Coast Guard site for the period since the last large rain event(> 50 mm) to the initial surface wipe sampling (17-26 August 2014) Daily surface wipes For the surface wipes taken every daily for 5 days (measure of metal deposition over 24 hours) the range of metal concentrations across the 6 parks was: Arsenic: o Mean: 1-5 1J.g/m 2 o Min: J.g/m 2 o Max: g/m 2 o Maximum at Reid Park Cadmium: o Mean: J.g/m 2 Page 6 of 10

7 ~ A.l!_Qua/{tv flllonitoria.g.. _QS!TA_ o Min: ~g/m 2 o Max: ~g/m 2 o Maximum at Queen's Park oval Lead: o Mean: ~g/m 2 o Min: ~g/m 2 o Max: ~g/m 2 o Maximum at Queen's Park oval Nickel: o Mean: 8-89 ~g/m 2 o Min: 4-61 ~g/m 2 o Max: ~g/m 2 o Maximum at Soroptimist Park The wind roses for the 24 hour periods are shown in Figure 2. The report does not give the individual results for each day of sampling, only the mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum measurement. The wind roses show that the prevailing winds would take the dust from the Port's activities to the South-west (Reid Park). The maximum levels for lead and cadmium were measured at Queen's Park Oval. The lead levels in dust deposition at DSTA's Townsville Sports Reserve site were below the lower level of reporting. Page 7 of 10

8 Figure 2: 24-hour windroses for each sampling period 27 September to 1 October 2014 Page 8 of 10

9 3 DSTA Metals monitoring DSTA currently measures metals in TSP at the Coastguard site located on the western boundary of the Port within 500 metres of ship loading operations. Metals in dust deposition are measured at the Coastguard site, North Ward (Townsville Sports Reserve, Warburton Street within 2.5 km of the Port) and at the Pimlico TAFE (a background site). The results for the metals in TSP for 2014 are shown in Table 2. Table 2 Coast Guard 2014 annual averages for lead, nickel, cadmium and arsenic Pollutant Averaging Period EPP(Air Objective) 2014 Annual Average J,tg/m3 J,tg/m3 Lead Annual Nickel Annual Cadmium Annual Arsenic Annual ~ ;~nu~~ve TS.P Lead Town~ille Coast Guard os EPPAir~ i 0.3 -r E "' l ~-- ' 0.2, ! j_ 200S Figure 3 Annual average TSP lead at the Coast Guard site Page 9 of 10

10 r ~ ~ ~ l Running Annual Ave TSP Lead - TownsviUe Coast Guard i o.~ EPPAirO~ i, -r--- ~ -- 1 & ~ _., ' --ll L,_o_.ooo _M_ _-oa sep_.o_s_--m..,... ar-09-~-se --~_ ---,_~- _ ~._ ~- ~-~-o-~-s- ~_;._;~_ - - _ -- -~- -~-r~;:-_~_ -- "_ _-s-_e~;_ ~_; ~--M-ar--1-2 se_p -12~- ~~M_-~_;;_;_ - ~;;;_~~~-;~ ;_,. Figure 4 Running 12-monthly average TSP lead at the Coast Guard site Runninc12 Monthly Ave. Lead Dust Deposition Townsville March 2008 October ~ ~ TownsvHie coast Guard -e-south TownsvHie -:Jr North Wanf.-TAQ (The Strand) --t.-yarraworwa _,... Pimlito ~North Ward-TNW (Warburton st) German Luft Standard Aus-2009 Feb-2010 Aug-2010 Feb-2011 Aus-2011 Feb-2012 Aug-2012 Feb-2013 Aug-2013 Febo2014 Aug-2014 L---=----~~--~~--~~~~~-~~~~~~--- Figure 5 Running 12-monthly average lead in the dust deposition at the Coast Guard site Page 10 of 10