EPHC Archive - Air Toxics NEPM

Caution: archived content

Information previously available on the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC) website (www.ephc.gov.au) is listed in this archive. These pages are no longer being maintained or updated but remain here as an archive for your information.

What's currently happening

For current information about the Air Toxics NEPM see:

Annual reporting

The Air Toxics NEPM requires each participating jurisdiction to submit a report to Council by 30 June next following each reporting year. A reporting year is defined in the NEPM as a year ending on 31 December. The purpose of reporting is to inform the public of progress in the assessment of sites and subsequent monitoring of air toxics. 2010 reports

Minor Variation to the Air Toxics NEPM

A mid-term review of the National Environment Protection (Air Toxics) Measure (the NEPM) began in November 2009 and reported to NEPC in June 2010.

The review found that monitoring methods required in the NEPM were not generally being used as they were too resource intensive. However, other internationally recognised methods were being used which provided data valuable to the overal goal of the NEPM of collecting sufficient data regarding air toxics in Australia to enable further decisions to be made. The National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) has made a minor variation to the NEPM to enable these methods, and the data collected, to be used in achieving the overall  outcome of the NEPM and increase our knowledge of air toxics in Australia.

The minor variation to the NEPM was registered with the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments (FRLI) on Tuesday, 25 October 2011. A notice was placed in the Commonwealth Government Gazette on Wednesday, 26 October 2011. The  minor variation to the NEPM is effective from Wednesday, 26 October 2011.

Tier 2

When the Air Toxics NEPM was originally being scoped five air toxics were included in the NEPM from a large number of other air toxics. It was agreed that a phased approach would be adopted to develop the NEPM where hazardous pollutants not included in the original NEPM could be incorporated at a later date (Tier 2).

The Environment Protection and Heritage Council agreed to establish a working group to develop a methodology to prioritise additional pollutants to be considered for inclusion in the NEPM. In June 2006, NEPC endorsed the risk-based methodology that was developed and trialled using the NPI pollutant list as the starting list. The methodology, rationale for the approach and outcomes of the trial can be downloaded below.

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