Community members are banding together to monitor toxic airborne chemicals in Darwin and Palmerston themselves, as the NT Environment Protection Agency has failed to address community concerns about emissions from INPEX’s Ichthys LNG project and Santos’ leaking LNG storage tank.

On 13 June, the CHANT (Community Healthy Air NT) citizen science project is launching a public request for support to acquire a state-of-the-art mobile air monitor to measure dangerous airborne chemicals in Darwin and Palmerston. The project has already received substantial donations from the community.

The mobile air monitor will move to different locations in Darwin and Palmerston and track levels of airborne chemicals called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). VOCs are known to cause acute health risks, like asthma attacks, and long-term risks due to organ damage, including cancer.

Last year, INPEX publicly revised upwards their 2023-24 benzene emissions – a VOC and known carcinogen – by 13,000%. Despite a lack of cumulative data, the NT EPA announced that the risk to human health from Ichthys LNG project is “very low”. This assertion has been challenged by the Climate and Health Alliance.

Dr Louise Woodward, Darwin paediatrician and CHANT founder

“As a paediatrician, I know first-hand how air pollution affects my community. Air pollution from the gas industry is linked to asthma, cancers, migraines, heart attacks, pregnancy complications, premature birth, congenital abnormalities and early death.

“Multinational gas companies seem to be able to pollute with impunity, while my community is exposed to dangerous airborne chemicals. Regulators need to take urgent action to protect public health before it is too late.

“We do not have to be bystanders. We can take matters into our own hands and measure the air quality where we live and raise our kids. The generous donations we’ve received so far for a community-owned air monitor show how concerned residents are.”

Contact Dr Woodward for interviews at 0405 531 576

Michelle Isles, CEO of the Climate and Health Alliance

“We are unconvinced by the NT Environmental Protection Agency that Darwin’s gas industry isn’t harmful to the health of those living in Darwin and Palmerston. We need more evidence that community health is protected. Three air monitors that don’t measure VOCs are inadequate for a city sharing an airshed with the gas industry. 

“We are calling for a public inquiry into air pollution from gas plants to restore confidence that our air and health are protected.”

Contact Michelle Isles at 0402 062 071 or [email protected]

Extra resources:

• The NT EPA Air Quality Network website provides real-time and historical air pollutant concentrations

• Map of NT EPA Air Quality Network Stations