When Things Got Bad I

Costerfield farmer Neil Harris, began capturing images of the mine-generated dust and mists he could see blanketing the area in March 2014. When he advised the regulators he was told that there was no dust coming from the crusher.


It's all just the usual mists and fogs in the valley, and, of course, the dusty roads, according to the regulators.

Neil is obviously very confused about the usual mists and fogs in the valley in which he has lived all his life.

The Department of Health arrived in May April. Particulate monitoring began at the site in June...

 That's right... begin the monitoring only after the dust mitigation ordered by DoH has been in effect for a couple of months...

How were the regulators so sure that the dust wasn't sourced from the crusher when they were so conspicuous by their absence from Costerfield and the minesite over the period covered by the following photos?

A DoH officer even speculated out loud that Neil had Photoshopped these pics! Seriously!


4 March, 2014, 7.53am

  4 March, 2014, 7.53am

  4 March, 2014, 8.00am

 

  8 March, 2014, 10.23am

8 March, 2014, 11.00am... half an hour later and the "fog" is still there.

18 March, 2014.

26 March 2014... 7:30 am - change of shift blasting?

Another. Inversion?

Another as the mist spreads itself around.

Newton Lane, Costerfield, 1km from the mine.

31 March 2014. A low fog rolling over the paddocks...

Evaporative spraying at the mine.

According to the Commonwealth Government’s Department of Environment’s “National Pollutant Inventory” antimony emissions in Australia fell from 16,000 kg in 2008/9 to 7,700 kg in 2012/13.

Do these figure need to be revised?