350.org Australia has called for immediate plans from Origin Energy to put in place stricter pollution controls after the company today received a $15,000 fine for fly ash being blown offsite.

“Origin needs to immediately come up with a plan to limit any future pollution breaches and take action to ensure this won’t happen again,” 350.org campaigner Josh Creaser said.

“This finding by the EPA flies in the face of a statement by the Chairman at Origin’s AGM last year where he assured local residents the company took air pollution very seriously and would engage with the community to address concerns.

“Despite the obvious health concerns around the Eraring plant, especially given the increasing urbanisation of the area, Origin’s intention to keep operating this power station until the 2030s is just not good enough. The health risks caused by the dangerous pollutants as well as the greenhouse emissions that are driving climate change mean Origin must develop a plan to close Eraring, rehabilitate the site and support community transition as soon as possible.”
Since Origin has taken control of Eraring, there have been significant increases of pollutants including sulphur dioxide, hydrochloric acid, fine particle pollution (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides. All these pollutants can cause significant health impacts and are a great concern to the local community.