Burrup Peninsula industrial pollution has impacted Murujuga rock art: report
A long awaited scientific report suggests industrial emissions have damaged rocks in a globally significant ancient WA rock art gallery – though the damage occurred in decades when pollution was higher than current levels.
The report into the Indigenous heritage site of Murujuga, on the Burrup Peninsula in WA's north-west – near gas giant Woodside's proposed expanded operations – sought to address years of scientific uncertainty over whether years of industrial pollution on the peninsula has affected the site, the subject of a World Heritage bid.
The government released the report on Friday afternoon, a time in which announcements typically attract less media scrutiny, and thus provoking the ire of traditional owners and the Greens, and coincidentally the day before the five-year anniversary of Rio Tinto's destruction of Aboriginal cultural heritage site Juukan Gorge.
The government said the program had delivered the largest and most reliable data set on rock art in the world, tracking air quality, rock surface chemistry, rainfall, and pH levels.
Key findings of included science showed 'elevated porosity in an area near Dampier' during periods of significantly higher industrial emissions in the 1970s.
It also said further research was required to investigate these processes, including the role of microbial activity.
The report co-produced with Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation also found that key air pollutants had dropped since 2014 and that there was no evidence acid rain or deposition was damaging the rock art.
The report sets out interim Environmental Quality Criteria now being used to guide regulation of industrial emissions on the peninsula.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said successful development of the interim Environmental Quality Criteria could not have been achieved without the knowledge and support of the Murujuga Circle of Elders, Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation Board, rangers and other personnel, 55 highly qualified scientists, a panel of independent expert peer reviewers and a stakeholder reference group.
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