Wagga and the Riverina are bucking a national trend that suggests where you live and how much you earn increases your vulnerability to air pollution.
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A national report found the correlation by cross-referencing the government’s national pollution inventory with the bureau of statistics’ population snapshot.
Compiled by the Australian Conservation Foundation, the report entitled The Dirty Truth identified three main courses for air pollution: mining, manufacturing, and utilities like water, electricity and waste treatment.
A combined 91 per cent of air pollution is a result of those industries.
“We found that 90 percent of these facilities are in close proximity to cities where the poorer or middle incomes live,” said ACF economics program manager and researcher Matt Rose.
“So the lower socio-economic places are copping the full brunt of downsides from the things that are there to benefit the whole nation.”
Although the nation’s emissions rate is far below that of the European Union and the United States, in Australia air pollution is still responsible for 3000 premature deaths across the nation each year.
“We don’t actually know where those deaths are, but we can imagine they’re around these centres were a lot of pollution is being pumped out.”
In NSW the worst affected is the Hunter region, where a total emissions estimation was made at 161,195,613 kilograms.
By contrast Wagga registered 200,976 kilograms of emissions placing the city at the medium level.
With 156,796 residents in the last census, the Hunter holds a higher population density than Wagga.
But the income size is comparable. In the Hunter, the median weekly wage is $1294 while in Wagga that sits at $1354.
Both regions are within the lower-middle income bracket, where emissions are expected to be higher.
“Wagga is in the lower 60 per cent of the nation in terms of income, but it seems [the city] is an exception to what our data is saying.
“That’s really great to see actually, but in order for that to be of biggest benefit it has to stay that way over time,” said Mr Rose.
“That will mean getting involved in the political process, knowing what’s coming into your area and knowing how pollution controls are going to be put in place before building is permitted.
“At a national level, we need consistent standards with an independent commission to enforce the standard.”
The emissions report does not yet have the scope to include pollution caused by vehicles and traffic, nor does it indicate whether there might be seasonal variations.
Though in time the plan is to expand the study.