Dear Nevile,

You may have heard that, on the 30th May, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) released a report concluding that:

“Loaded coal trains were not associated with a statistically significant difference in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations when compared with the concentrations recorded when no train was passing the monitoring station.”

The Hunter Community Environment Centre has received a leaked copy of the report, dated just six days before the version that was released to the public, which reached quite different conclusions. The leaked report states that:

“Loaded coal trains and unloaded coal trains were associated with a statistically significant elevation in particulate matter concentrations when compared with the concentrations recorded when no train was passing the monitoring station.”

Many other conclusions have been altered and data apparently reclassified between the two versions of the report. The effect of these alterations is to mislead the Government and the people of NSW into believing that coal trains do not cause coal dust emissions, when the opposite is true.

In light of this, an independent Special Commission of Inquiry should be established to investigate the issue of coal dust in the Hunter and to get to the bottom of this issue. In addition, the planning process for any infrastructure projects that may contribute to elevated airborne dust levels in the Hunter should be suspended, pending the recommendations of the Special Commission of Inquiry. This includes the proposed fourth coal terminal, which would increase coal train movements by 107 per day, resulting in a significant increase in particle pollution.

For this issue to be resolved, we urgently need your help.

Please send an email to the Premier today to show your support for a Special Commission of Inquiry into this issue.

Thank you very much for your continued involvement and support!

Best wishes,

Annika Dean

President, Hunter Community Environment Centre
On behalf of the Coal Terminal Action Group

For more information, including a table comparing the findings of the two reports, please click here.

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coalterminalactiongroup · Australia
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