Sinclair Knight Merz was commissioned to develop an air quality management plan for the region surrounding the M5 East Motorway, in southern Sydney. As part of the conditions of approval for motorway, the client was required to participate in investigations into sub-regional air quality and identify strategies for improving air quality within the study area. The project consisted of a three staged approach comprising:
- the development of an emissions inventory that identified key contributors to air pollution in the sub-region;
- the formulation of a sub-regional air quality management plan that provided cost effective measures to control/manage emissions as an alternative to controlling emissions from the M5 East tunnel stack; and
- the development of a communication and education plan for the community.
The emissions inventory involved estimating emissions of NOx and PM10 from mobile, domestic, industrial and commercial sources using emission factors from the NSW EPA, the National Pollutant Inventory Emission Estimation Technique Handbooks and the US EPA AP-42 Compilation of Air Emission Factors. Activity data was gained through consultation with government organisations, such as the State Transit Authority and the client, private companies such as Rail Access Australia and Unilever Australia, and from domestic households via a household survey. Emissions were estimated within the study area for a typical day in both summer and winter and the largest point source contributors to NOx and PM10 emissions within the study area were identified.
An air quality management plan for minimising sub-regional air quality impacts was formulated by targeting the main contributors of NOx and PM10 emission in the study area and investigating a number of management options to provide the most cost effective benefit for the invested capital.