Talk to us about Air Quality Monitoring and Testing

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Get air quality data you can rely on

An approval condition, a licence requirement, a complaint from the community that requires a response. The cost of a poorly designed program isn't just wasted spend. It's delayed approvals, non-compliances or data a regulator may not accept.

MRP is a fully independent consultancy, led by Managing Principal, Martin Parsons, a CASANZ certified practitioner with over 25 years in the field. We ensure your program is designed to meet the standard it will be judged against. We are independent of the monitoring contractors and ensure that your monitoring system is fit for purpose and cost effective.

What is air quality monitoring?

Air quality monitoring is the systematic measurement of pollutant concentrations and meteorological conditions in ambient air, at emission sources, or at site boundaries to assess environmental impact, verify regulatory compliance, and inform operational decision-making.

How we can help

We design, scope, and manage air quality monitoring programs from initial planning through to reporting. That includes selecting parameters, designing networks, siting equipment, coordinating field sampling and laboratory analysis, interpreting the data against your approval conditions or licence requirements, and delivering documentation that directly addresses what your regulator and the community requires.

How we design your monitoring program

Every program starts with your emission profile and regulatory context. We select pollutants such as PM₁₀, PM_2.5, metals, NOx, SO₂ or VOCs and other air toxics based on what your approval or licence requires, site equipment in locations that account for prevailing meteorology and receptor positions, and apply QA/QC procedures that satisfy relevant criteria such as the NEPM requirements, Australian Standards for monitoring and regulator requirements. Every design decision is documented so it can be clearly explained to a regulator or independent reviewer if challenged.

Types of monitoring we provide

The type of monitoring your site needs depends on the pollutants your operation generates, the proximity of sensitive receptors, and the specific conditions attached to your approval or licence. We scope programs that combine the right monitoring methods for your pollutants, your receptors, and your specific approval or licence conditions.

Ambient air quality monitoring

Ambient monitoring measures pollutant concentrations in the surrounding environment rather than at the source. It is used to establish background levels, assess cumulative impacts from multiple sources, and demonstrate compliance with NEPM ambient air quality standards for pollutants such as particulates, NO2 and SO2. For project approvals, ambient data often forms the baseline against which predicted impacts are assessed.

Source emissions testing

Source emissions testing measures what your operation is actually discharging. Sampling from stacks, vents, and point sources quantifies pollutant emission rates, verifies licence compliance, and validates dispersion modelling inputs. Site-specific monitoring of sources can result in significantly different emission estimates compared to default factors.

Boundary monitoring

Fenceline monitoring measures pollutant concentrations at or near your site boundary. It applies where operations are close to sensitive receptors or where licence conditions set concentration limits at the property line, providing a direct measure of whether offsite impacts are occurring.

Dust deposition monitoring

Dust monitoring tracks the longer-term accumulation of particulate matter surrounding your site and potential impacts on amenity. Commonly used in mining and construction operations, it records dust impacts over monthly sampling periods that can be compared against guideline deposition rates.

Near-reference and low cost monitoring

There are situations where the use of near reference or low cost monitors is appropriate and can result in significant cost savings when undertaking monitoring campaigns.

Meteorological measurement

Wind speed, direction, temperature, humidity, and atmospheric stability all influence how pollutants disperse from a source. Meteorological monitoring data provides the data needed to interpret air quality results in context and is essential input for any dispersion modelling work.

Odour monitoring

Odour monitoring applies where operations generate odorous emissions with a risk of community complaint. Methods range from field-based odour surveys to olfactometry sampling, depending on whether the objective is complaint investigation, source characterisation, or modelling validation.

Workplace exposure monitoring

We design and implement workplace exposure monitoring for employees in accordance with relevant workplace exposure standards.

Our air quality sampling methods

We use sampling methods that match pollutant, required detection limits, and the regulatory standard your data will be assessed against. The wrong method produces data that misrepresents concentrations or fails to satisfy your approval conditions.

Using pumps to draw air through a collection medium, providing real-time or time-weighted data.
Using natural diffusion to collect pollutants, suited to screening surveys and spatial coverage.

When you might need air monitoring

Air quality monitoring is often triggered by regulatory requirements attached to approvals or licence conditions, operational issues, community concerns, or the need to establish a baseline before a problem develops.

Project approvals and baseline studies

Baseline monitoring establishes air quality conditions before an operation begins. This data informs the air quality assessment supporting regulatory assessments and anchors the predictions against which future impacts are measured.

Licence compliance and ongoing reporting

Licence conditions often require ongoing monitoring to demonstrate compliance with emission limits or ambient criteria. The program must align with what the licence specifies in parameters and reporting.

Dust impacts from mining and construction

Mining, earthworks, demolition, and materials handling generate particulate emissions near sensitive receptors. Real-time dust monitoring demonstrates controls are effective and, where complaints exist, quantifies the issue and identifies its source.

Odour complaints and community concerns

Odour complaints near residential areas, schools, or hospitals require targeted monitoring to determine the source. Methods include field surveys, ambient sampling, or olfactometry depending on the objective of the investigation.

Operational due diligence

Some operators commission monitoring proactively, particularly where community expectations make it prudent to own credible data before a complaint arrives. Data from a well-designed existing monitoring network is often invaluable in supporting future expansion approvals.

Data analysis, reporting and compliance services

Collecting monitoring data is only half the task. The data needs to be interpreted, contextualised against relevant criteria, and presented in a format that directly addresses your obligations.

Monitoring results feed into regulatory assessments, and reporting against relevant ambient air quality standards. We handle the full chain from raw data through to QA, analysis and regulatory-ready reporting, ensuring the analysis addresses the specific conditions and criteria that apply to your site rather than presenting numbers without context.

Which regulations shape your monitoring program?

Air quality monitoring in Australia doesn't operate under a single set of rules. Several regulatory frameworks set the standards, reporting obligations, and exposure limits that determine what your monitoring program needs to measure and how the data is used. The monitoring program needs to account for all applicable frameworks from the outset, so that a single coordinated effort produces data that satisfies each obligation rather than requiring separate, overlapping programs that duplicate cost and effort.

Sets nationally consistent ambient standards for criteria pollutants including PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, ozone, CO, and lead. These are the benchmarks most commonly applied when assessing whether a project's air quality impacts are acceptable, and they underpin the assessment criteria used in regulatory assessments and subsequent conditions.
Sets airborne concentration limits for hazardous substances in occupational settings. These are distinct from ambient standards and are assessed at the breathing zone of workers rather than at site boundaries or in the surrounding environment. Where both ambient and occupational monitoring are required, the two programs need to be designed and interpreted separately, as the applicable limits, averaging periods, and regulatory authorities are different.
The AS/NZS 3580 series prescribes standard methods for sampling and analysing ambient air in Australia, covering pollutant measurement, equipment siting, and data validation. Regulators expect compliance with these standards when monitoring data supports approvals or licence conditions.

Explore additional services

Air Quality Impact Assessments

Independent air quality assessments across diverse sectors, helping clients identify and manage risks to protect communities and the environment.

View Air Quality Impact Assessments

Air Quality Management Plans

We develop air quality management plans for proposed and ongoing projects across Australia.

View Air Quality Management Plans

Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling

Our assessments apply fit‑for‑purpose, regulator‑accepted dispersion modelling to quantify off‑site impacts and demonstrate performance against relevant guidance and standards.

View Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling

Air Quality Monitoring and Testing