Monitoring the air for benzene
Benzene is a component of petrol. Benzene concentrations measured at monitored sites appear in the chart below.
The results of monitoring to date indicate that benzene levels are below the health based monitoring investigation level.
New fuel regulations introduced in January 2006, reduced the level of benzene in petrol; this partially explains the drop in benzene concentrations measured at roadsides by EPA in the last two years (ie. Nunawading 2003/04 and Westgate 2004 compared with Carlton and South Melbourne 2006/07).
Annual average benzene concentrations for EPA’s benzene studies
ppb: parts per billion (for every one billion litres of air there is one litre of the pollutant)
Note: Some projects ran for less than twelve months. More information on individual projects is available.
| Sample date | Location | Average benzene concentration (ppb) |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Alphington | 0.6 |
| 2003 | Footscray | 0.4 |
| 2003/04 | Nunawading (Springvale Road) | 1.7 |
| 2004 | Brooklyn (Westgate Freeway) | 1.3 |
| 2004/05 | Corio | 0.5 |
| 2005/06 | Eltham | 0.5 |
| 2006 | Newport | 1.0 |
| 2006 | Spotswood | 0.8 |
| 2006/07 | Carlton | 0.7 |
| 2006/07 | South Melbourne | 0.5 |
| 2007 | Traralgon | 0.2 |
| National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) investigation level (annual average) | 3.0 | |
ppb: parts per billion (for every one billion litres of air there is one litre of the pollutant)
Air quality summary
Tuesday 24 November 2009: Summary for the 24 hours to 3 PM: FAIR air quality at Footscray (due to local dust), and GOOD air quality elsewhere.
Forecast: GOOD air quality is expected in Melbourne tomorrow [Wednesday]