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Introduction
Who participates in the NPi?
What sources contribute to South Australia's
emissions?
When is NPi emission data reported?
What does all this data mean?
NPi publications
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Introduction
The NPi database
displays estimated emissions, calculated in kilograms per year
(kg/yr), for substances that may pose a health and/or environmental
risk. These emissions can arise from industrial, commercial, domestic
and transport activities. The NPi currently includes 90
substances, with background information on each, which can
be categorised as:
- inorganic substances (metals, metal oxides and non-metals)
- nutrients
- products of combustion (from the burning of fuel such as diesel,
petrol, gas, oil or coal)
- solvents
- acids
- volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
The NPi also describes techniques used by facilities to
estimate their emissions; provides maps with the locations of
reporting facilities and their contact details; and lists the
emissions to air from non-facility sources in many urban and rural
areas.
The estimated emission data can be requested by:
- location (postcode, state or territory, or Australia-wide)
- substance (individually or up to 90)
- source (industry sector)
- facility (specific industry site)
- emission destination (air, land, water, or all three).
Who participates in the NPi?
Industrial sites (facility emissions)
A limit or 'threshold' is set for each substance listed in the
NPi. Throughout Australia, industrial sites that have tripped
an NPi threshold must provide emission information to the
NPi. The three mechanisms for tripping the NPi threshold
are:
- 'using' more than a specified amount of an NPi substance,
where 'use' is defined as 'the handling, manufacture, import,
processing coincidental production or other use of the substance'
- burning more than a specified amount of fuel
- emitting more than a specified amount of nitrogen or phosphorus
to water.
The reporting sites have calculated their own emissions according
to emission estimation techniques (EETs) available in supplied
NPi
manuals. These industrial sites, known also as point source
emitters, supply the following information annually to the NPi:
- emission values in kg/yr
- site location
- public contact details
- a summary of site activities that reduce emissions.
This information can be accessed on the database through a location,
substance, source or facility query, a map
query displaying the site as a blue dot, downloading facility
data, or using the 'Quick find' function.
Commercial, domestic and transport activities (aggregate emissions)
The NPi
database also provides emission estimates from smaller
companies, mobile
and non-industrial sources using less than the threshold amounts
of NPi substances. These include household activities (lawn
mowing, wood fires), transport related activities (cars, aircraft),
and area-based sources (road marking services, bush fires).
Each state and territory has estimated the emissions from these
sources, also known as aggregated emissions. South Australia has
estimated aggregate emissions for the Adelaide metropolitan area
and 16 regional centres—Barmera, Barossa Valley, Berri, Loxton,
Lyndoch, Millicent, Mount Gambier, Nuriootpa, Port Augusta, Port
Lincoln, Port Pirie, Renmark, Riverland, South East, Spencer Gulf
and Whyalla. This information can be accessed on the database
using a source or substance query.
What sources contribute to South Australia's
emissions?
The sum of all industrial, commercial, domestic and transportation
emissions in any area can be quite substantial. The graph adjacent
represents the estimated total carbon monoxide (CO) emissions
for metropolitan Adelaide in 2001-2002, broken down into the major
contributing sources. It shows that motor vehicles are the largest
CO emission source, responsible for 84% of all CO emissions, followed
by solid fuel burning (domestic) at 9%, and lawn mowing at 3%.
Motor vehicle emissions are also the major source from most other
substances on the NPi list. However, this proportion of
emissions from motor vehicles may decrease in coming years as
more industries participate in the NPi.
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of 2001—2002 Adelaide metropolitan carbon monoxide emissions |
When is NPi emission data reported?
The majority of South Australian industries submit their estimated
emission data annually to the SA NPi Team by 30 September.
The NPi database is then updated on 31 January the following
year.
What does all this data mean?
The SA EPA does not explain, analyse or interpret the data in
the NPi
database—this is left to the database user. The federal
Department of Environment and Heritage has provided contextual
information to help users understand the data from NPi
sources. The NPi web site contains contextual
information on substance
properties and background information, emission sources, and
health and environmental effects.
<<Back to NPi
This page was last modified 18-03-2008
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