Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA) has installed an interim air monitoring station at the corner of La Trobe and Victoria streets to strengthen its capacity to provide information about air quality in Melbourne’s central business district.
The small triangle site is owned by the Royal Society of Victoria and was home to a Bureau of Meteorology weather station in the past.
EPA Executive Director of Knowledge Standards and Assessments Tim Eaton said the station was put in place following the removal of another from Richmond in September 2016.
“In the past, EPA’s Richmond station, which was removed due to site accessibility issues, provided us with data that was representative of air quality in Melbourne’s CBD,” Mr Eaton said.
“The data was generally consistent with other monitoring stations in Footscray and Alphington, which have both continued to provide reliable information about the CBD’s air quality since the removal of the Richmond station,” Mr Eaton said.
Mr Eaton said the new air monitoring site would record particles in the air known as PM2.5.
“PM2.5 particles are one of the key pollutants that can impact on human health, so it is important EPA continues to provide the community with information about air quality so they can make informed choices to protect their health during times were high levels are recorded,” Mr Eaton said.
Mr Eaton said the interim station would remain in place while the search for a permanent site in the CBD continued.
“EPA is now looking at further options within the CBD where we could locate a station that would have the ability to measure even further air quality parameters in the future,” Mr Eaton said.
The CBD station brings the number of EPA air monitoring stations across Victoria to 18, which are spread across Melbourne, the Latrobe Valley, Wangaratta and Geelong.
For up to date information about Melbourne’s air quality, visit EPA’s AirWatch website: http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/our-work/monitoring-the-environment/epa-airwatch