FOR years, Yarraville residents have said the thousands of trucks hurtling past their front doors each day are harming their health.
They said as much in their own health perceptions survey seven years ago and soon they’ll know if they’re correct.
As revealed by the Weekly last month, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) will this week start a 12-month program to monitor air pollution and noise levels from trucks and motor vehicles in Francis Street, Yarraville.
The program will measure levels of specific air pollutants emitted against current air quality standards, providing EPA with an updated snapshot of studies undertaken a decade ago.
Monitoring will be conducted on Francis Street and will measure small airborne particles and nitrogen dioxide and benzo(a)pyrene, both of which are related to exhaust fumes.
A week-long test of traffic noise will also carried out. Francis Street is used as a thoroughfare for an estimated 20,000 trucks a day, travelling from Geelong Road and the Brooklyn industrial estate to the Port of Melbourne.
The most recent testing in Francis Street, in 2001 and 2002, found airborne particle concentrations high enough to impact on the health of residents with pre-existing health conditions.
The large numbers of trucks were cited as the likely source of the particles, but the state government again failed to fund a dedicated truck route linking Hyde Street with the West Gate Freeway.
EPA spokeswoman Kate Gittings said a current snapshot was needed because the landscape had changed in the past decade.
“For example, there has been increased population and economic growth leading to increased travel by private and freight vehicles. We have seen the modernisation of truck fleets – better pollution controls and better performance – and there has been overall improvements to fuel standards.”
Ms Gittings said the EPA acknowledged the role community groups such as the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group had played in campaigning about truck traffic choking local roads and concerns about toxic diesel smoke.
Results of the tests will be published on the EPA website periodically.
Asked if the EPA would put recommendations to the government for action if pollution proved to exceed acceptable levels, Ms Gittings said the study would provide important information to “inform decisions, but it’s premature to pre-empt what these may be”.
