Monitoring the air for xylene
Xylene is a component of petrol and is commonly found in industrial solvents. Average xylene concentrations measured at each monitoring site appear in the chart below. Average concentrations are presented as this is the basis on which the health based monitoring investigation level is set.
To date all results are well below the health based monitoring investigation level.
Annual average xylene concentrations for EPA’s xylene 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 xylene concentration (ppb) |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Alphington | 1.4 |
| 2003 | Footscray | 1.3 |
| 2003/04 | Nunawading (Springvale Road) | 1.8 |
| 2004 | Brooklyn (Westgate Freeway) | 1.6 |
| 2004/05 | Corio | 0.5 |
| 2005/06 | Eltham | 0.7 |
| 2006 | Newport | 4.4 |
| 2006 | Spotswood | 1.0 |
| 2006/07 | Carlton | 1.0 |
| 2006/07 | South Melbourne | 0.5 |
| 2007 | Traralgon | 0.2 |
| National Environment Protection Measure (NEPM) investigation level (annual average) | 200.0 | |
ppb: parts per billion (for every one billion litres of air there is one litre of the pollutant)
Air quality summary
Saturday November 7 2009: No summary is available today.
Forecast: Good to Fair air quality is expected in Melbourne on Sunday