Power station dust smothers Port Augusta — but it’s not ash says Flinders Power manager

A YEAR after Port Augusta was smothered by fly ash, wild winds have whipped up dirt and coal from the site of the city’s decommissioned coal plant. But a solution isn’t in sight.

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A YEAR after Port Augusta was smothered by fly ash, wild winds have whipped up dirt and coal from the site of the city’s decommissioned coal plant.

But despite the ash dam not being completely covered, site manager Flinders Power insists ash was not whipped up during the sudden wind gust.

The dust over Port Augusta was thick enough to obstruct view in the distance. Picture: Supplied

“The dust was not ash,” a Flinders Power spokesman said.

He said the company had been ready for dust to kick up because of a predicted change — with multiple water carts at the ready — but the change of wind direction had been too quick to prevent the dust from spreading across the city.

Environment Minister Ian Hunter conceded the dust would be “incredibly frustrating” for affected residents but promised no additional solutions.

Mr Hunter said the Environment Protection Agency had informed him that the dust did not contain particles of fly ash.

He said the site was “90 per cent” covered by top soil which had been studded with plant seeds and the remainder was covered by a suppressant to contain the fly ash.

“Unfortunately there’s no short-term fix for this, other than to wait for the site to be revegetated and that will take a year or two,” he said.

“I’m not quite sure what you ask them to do more than they’ve done already.

“It is a massive site. It’s impossible to water a site as big as the city of Adelaide. You need nature to take its place, for the seeds to germinate.”

The approaching dust seen heading towards Port Augusta. Picture: Supplied

Mr Hunter conceded that similar dust flare ups could happen again during summer if similar windy weather conditions occurred.

He could not give any advice on the health impacts of the dust, referring questions to SA Health.

“This time of year Port Augusta experiences dust events. Unfortunately the winds picked up and turned around in such a direction that it blew the remaining bits of top soil straight towards the town,” Mr Hunter said.

Port Augusta Mayor Sam Johnson said dust continued to emanate from the site at 7.30pm on Wednesday, about three hours after it kicked up.

“In this sort of weather you can’t really control it (the dust),” he said.