AS COAL mining continues at full-speed in Queensland, the approval of Queensland Rail’s (QR) Transitional Environmental Program (TEP) could not have come at a better time.
The program addresses the impact of coal dust and outlines strategies to minimise dust emissions from trains. It follows 12 months of collaborations with the coal industry and community to monitor and evaluate emissions in central Queensland.
So far, a number of mine owners have agreed to spray veneer onto loaded coal wagons to reduce coal dust emissions.
QR CEO, Lance Hockridge, says the variables of transporting coal make it essential to have a collaborative coal supply chain in place to reduce emissions.
The spray veneer option will be complemented by wagon washing facilities to be installed at coal ports to reduce emissions from empty wagons on the return trip to the mines.
QR will continue to monitor coal dust under a 12 month program and test the effectiveness of veneering on the Goonyella, Blackwater and Moura rail systems.
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