July 2, 2020: A new licence agreed by the Port Pirie lead smelter owner Nyrstar and Australia’s Environment Protection Authority on June 30 caps emissions by 20% to just 0.4 micrograms/decilitre per cubic metre.
The company also has to submit a comprehensive ‘Lead in Air Monitoring and Reporting Plan’ by July 24, which includes daily measuring and monitoring of TSL (Total Suspended Particulate) lead in air, and report its data to the EPA.
The conditions, to begin on July 1, will last for 12 months at the site, one of the largest primary lead smelters in the world.
Mitsui Bussan Commodities, the metals futures arm of Mitsui & Co, published an article by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which quoted EPA chief executive Tony Circelli as saying the reductions would help to reduce the health effects of lead in the air of the community.
“We will require an updated Environment Improvement Plan from the operators to address lead and wastewater emissions,” he said.
Port Pirie, owned by Nyrstar, only returned to full production in November 2019, after a series of outages in June. This caused lead prices to soar by around $250 a tonne, at one point reaching $2,100.
Nyrstar is majority owned by the Trafigura Group, and Port Pirie has been in almost continuous operation for 127 years.
“The EPA has given Nyrstar the opportunity to be consulted, and the licence has been issued for one year so that conditions can be reviewed again when further improvements at the plant take effect,” said the EPA.
In response, a Nyrstar spokesperson said the company had been fully on board with the EPA to work out new licence conditions.
“Nyrstar is committed to improving its lead in air performance. The new 12-month licence LIA limit will be a challenge for Nyrstar Port Pirie to achieve. Nyrstar is however committed to continuing its work to reduce air emissions and achieve the target applied,” the spokesperson said.
“Nyrstar continuously focuses on implementing initiatives that will have a positive impact on its LIA performance. In the past months these have included substantial road work improvements in conjunction with the purchase of two new and more highly efficient vacuum road sweepers and the purchase of new fog cannons to minimize movement of dust particles.
“Numerous other environmental improvement initiatives are planned in the coming months. Increased community awareness, communication and consultation will also be a high focus for the operation.
“Nyrstar is committed to continuing to improve and reduce its environmental footprint and to work closely with the Port Pirie Regional Council and residents with the collaborative aim to improve community health and reduce children’s blood lead levels.”
