Environment Protection Authority, EPA, Victoria has upgraded its fleet of high-tech aerial drones, which now have the capability of detecting air pollution.

The environmental watchdog has equipped its drones with a new aerial air pollutant detection and mapping system, which detects gas emissions and provides detailed information to EPA officers on the ground in real time.

EPA executive director of operations Joss Crawford said the system added to the existing uses of drones, which include collecting water samples, detecting hotspots and fire risks in waste stockpiles, and inspecting landfills, illegal dumping sites and spills.

“The sniffer drone gives us real-time gas concentrations and distributions that will help assess total emissions from the landfill, oil and gas refinery, wastewater treatment plant or other industrial site we’re inspecting,” she said.

“The new technology also enables us to pinpoint significant sources at these sites so we can then target the real cause of pollution and direct measures to do something about it.”

The new system will allow EPA officers to measure the pollutants including carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, particulates including dust and smoke, and methane, a common byproduct of landfills.

The collected data is fed to software that provides a three-dimensional visualisation of the pollutants to pinpoint the polluting source, enabling targeted intervention by EPA officers.

Ms Crawford said the new drone technology would coincide with a greater EPA focus on landfills this year.

“Each pollutant comes with its own challenges; hydrogen sulphide creates immediate problems with odour, while carbon monoxide is a poison with no smell at all, particulates mostly affect the old, people with heart or lung disease, pregnant women and small children, and methane is a greenhouse gas associated with climate change,” she said.

Ms Crawford said EPA Victoria carried out more than 500 drone flights across the state each year.

“EPA’s drones give our frontline officers practical tools that make the job of detecting and stopping pollution faster and more effective,” she said.

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