Who we are

Air quality

We recognise that we must ensure the highest quality of air possible at and around our operating sites. Some of our activities emit sulphur dioxide, fluorides and dust. Given the potential impact of our emissions on people and the environment, we need to understand and control their effects. While meeting our legal requirements we are also looking ahead to address evolving community expectations.

Sulphur dioxide emissions increased by 2.8 per cent to 72 thousand tonnes. Fluoride emissions, mainly from aluminium smelting, were 1.2 thousand tonnes, which was similar to 2006.

Within Alcan, technology has led to reductions in air emissions over the last ten years. However decreasing raw material quality has made it difficult to improve on this performance. Alcan is undertaking a comprehensive review of its raw material supply as well as addressing this challenge through research and development.

Dust is an important issue that cuts across many areas, including occupational health, environment, processing and assets. Dust collectors are used wherever possible. The total number of community complaints about air quality, mainly dust related, were nearly four times higher than in 2006 (417 complaints compared to 87 in 2006). Much of this can be attributed to drier conditions in Australia and the result of making it easier for local community members to contact us.

A programme to reduce water use for dust control using chemical suppressants and improved spray technology should see improvements in dust and water management. Our local sustainable development reports provide a more comprehensive discussion on regional dust management.