Blue Mountains Air Watch program

A community campaign is being escalated to get the state government to restore the

after government inquiries on last year's bushfires heard about the effects on communities that lacked air monitoring data. Blue Mountains Council passed an urgency motion at last month's meeting seeking for the restoration of the Blue Mountains Air Watch Project. The mayor will again write to the Minister for the Environment Matt Kean urging for his intervention. Council is also hoping neighbouring bush-fire affected councils such as the Hawkesbury, Lithgow and Wollondilly as well as the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils will campaign for the return of the monitoring. The Blue Mountains Lithgow Air Watch project was always planned as a 12 month operation and ended in May this year. It only came about after concerted community campaigning. A NSW EPA spokesperson said earlier this year the aim was to provide a better picture of air quality in the region across all seasons. It found air quality was generally very good and complied with standards for both particulate and gaseous air pollutants. PREVIOUSLY: Cr Don McGregor told the council meeting that the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the health impacts of the recent bushfires noted the evidence of health experts, more than 400 deaths occurred, and more than 4000 people were admitted to hospital due to bushfire smoke from the 2019/2020 east coast bushfires. He said a need for real time information on local air quality was illustrated by the 50,000 hits on the EPA Air Watch website during the height of the fires when a significant decline was recorded in air quality. Blue Mountains Unions and Community group spokesman Peter Lammiman said they would be campaigning in the lead-up to the 2023 state election to get the air monitors back so they can continue giving real time air quality data whether from the effects of fires or impacts from the Great Western Highway and freight trains.