A new system for managing smoke and emissions in
Victoria that will provide for coordinated:
• Investment
• Service delivery
• Community focus

• Siloed approach to solutions & opportunities
• Approach focussed on Hazelwood instead of state
• Failing to build industry into the solutions
• Lack of community awareness & ownership
• Producing outcomes that maximise investment

The State through the lead agency EPA is equipping itself to undertake rapid air quality monitoring in any location in Victoria, to :
• Collect all relevant data, including data on
PM2.5, carbon monoxide and ozone; and
• Ensuring the data is used to inform decision-making within 24 hours of the incident occurring.

Develop a tiered response model that builds capability and encompasses the entire process from initial to full-scale response. This will include the:
• threshold conditions which relate to potential community impact, under which rapid air quality monitoring will be deployed (an ‘escalation procedure’)
• type of ‘prolonged smoke events’ that should be covered by the recommendation (for example coal mine fires, landfill fires)
• exact type and format of air quality data needed by agencies to make health and operational related decisions based on rapid air quality monitoring
• range of pollutants to be included in rapid air quality monitoring.
This will also inform a strategic approach to detection, analysis and monitoring, and consideration of mechanisms to assess and deploy appropriate resources based on the requirements of an event.

• understanding current capacity and capability across agencies
• developing a sector investment plan
• development of an investment plan to address gaps in capability
• strategic approach to detection, analysis and monitoring that can be applied across a range of events to inform decision-making and enhance community safety.

This Standard provides direction for all agencies responding to large, extended or complex fires that produce significant levels of carbon monoxide (CO) in the outdoor environment.
These may include but are not limited to fires in coal mines, peat bogs, landfill sites or large mulch piles.
These events may exhibit the following characteristics:
• Risk to firefighter and emergency responder health
• Impact on communities
• Scale, scope and complexity
• Significant carbon monoxide emissions.

 standards to be applied during significant events that have potential to generate CO for community and workers including responders
 enhanced fire fighter, worker and responder safety during these events
 health management program for fire fighter, worker and responders
 improved monitoring at both incident and community levels
 enhanced community safety
 ability to base protective actions on measured and analysed data
 a robust protocol which has undergone peer review by experts
 an education program for responders.

This Protocol combines the previously developed Bushfire Smoke, Air Quality
& Health Monitoring Protocol (DHHS &
EPA 2014) & the Hazelwood Coal
Mine Fire PM2.5 Health Protection
Protocol (DHHS & EPA 2014)

Now applies to all fire setting where levels of fine particulates in smoke are significant & a health concern
• includes PM2.5 and PM10 fine particles as air quality monitoring indicators
• reaffirms its application to broad area (regional) impacts of bushfire smoke on community health
• considers the latest available supporting documents, including the Wildfire Smoke – a Guide for Public
Health Officials (California) in this update
• provides a reference for emergency responders
.

• outlines arrangements between EPA and DHHS for the provision of forecast and actual fine particle data
• process for communicating community health protection messages and advice
• promoting understanding across emergency management agencies
• use of the emergency information and warnings system to communicate to communities.

Incorporates the management of public health impacts from largescale, extended smoke events;
Includes updated Bushfire Smoke, carbon monoxide and PM2.5 protocols; and
Provides practical advice and support materials to employers, communities and individuals on how to minimise the harmful effects of smoke.

EMERGENCY SCENARIOS
Tyre fire, Coalmine, Landfill (Waste / Composting), Bushfire, Planned Burns, Industrial / Chemical Plant, HazMat
Timescale Immediate First responder 4-6 Hours 6-24 hours Days-Weeks
Reference protocols and triggers for stages of incident
Shelter Indoors Terminate OR Responsive Evacuation
Community Smoke, Air Quality & Health Protocol
Use visibility at any stage
Use PM
2.5
≥ 25µg/m 3
(24 hr) or ≥ 40 µg/m3 (1 hr) when available
Use PM
10
≥ 50µg/m 3 (24 hr) or ≥ 80µg/m 3
(1 hr) when available
Carbon Monoxide (CO) protocol - triggered by any reading or prediction ≥ 27ppm
Sulphur Dioxide (SO
2
) protocol - triggered by any reading or prediction ≥ 0.2ppm
1
All other analytes - use Health Risk Assessment
1
Potentially SO
2
producing settings: Anglesea & Bacchus Marsh coalmines; Industrial production of sodium sulfite, sulfuric acid, sulfuryl chloride, thionyl chloride, organic sulfonates, disinfectants, fumigants, glass, wine, industrial and edible protein, and vapor pressure thermometers. Also used during the bleaching of some food, wood pulp and wood; in leather tanning, brewing, preserving and the refrigeration industry.

Incorporates the previously described standards and protocols and incorporates other capacities and capabilities existing and in development
• Plume modelling capability – ALOHA, ARGOS
• Smoke Transport modelling & health impacts
• Shelter Indoors

• Awareness and understanding across agencies and stakeholders.
• Integration within agency response protocols.
• Training and education.
• Ongoing development and review
• Exercising
Published and available http://emv.vic.gov.au/procedures/protocols/

Range of new protocols in place for this season.
Partner agencies Fire,
EPA and DHHS

When deciding the course of action and which capabilities should be deployed, the following should also be considered:
1.
Nature of the fire/event (what are we dealing with?)
2.
Scale (how big is it now, will it grow?)
3.
Predictions on estimated duration (how long will it run for?)
4.
Meteorological forecast (what is the weather doing, will this change?)
5.
Time to activate protocols within this matrix (what is the time from decision to operational deployment, to receipt of valid data on which to base decisions?)

6. Engagement of appropriate key agencies at incident, region and state level I/EMT’s (are the right agencies engaged and represented?)
7. Community (what is the nature of the community being or likely to be impacted?)
8. Activation and issuing of community warnings and information
(what message and information does the community need?).
Consideration of each of these factors will help ensure workers and communities are protected at all times.