Greenbushes residents say noise, light, and dust pollution from a neighbouring lithium mine is driving them "mad". Talison Lithium assures the local community it will work harder to reduce impacts of the mine's production expansion.
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00:00Clouds of dust trailing across the sky, settling on cars and homes in the small town of Greenbushes.
00:09It just gathers on every surface, the roofs, like a sandpit on the roof.
00:15Our eyes, my eyes anyway, are constantly full of muck, coffin, and all the plants are covered in dust.
00:24Residents say this is the source, one of the world's biggest lithium spodumene mines within minutes of the town.
00:31This week, operator Talison admitted the site exceeded approved dust limits at least eight times in 2024, and at least four times so far this year.
00:42Around 45 community members gathered on Thursday night to raise concerns directly with the company's chief.
00:49And dust just floats, it's probably this high, down into our street.
00:56Talison Lithium admitting the mine's recent expansion had significantly increased dust and promised to do better.
01:04We've got nine monitors we use to tell us when dust levels are picking up.
01:09We've also increased the discipline around turning off equipment, so we will shut production if dust levels get up to what we call red alert in our tarp system.
01:18The local shire says it will take up the issue.
01:21As a start, the shire CEO and I will be contacting the relevant ministers and giving our community a voice at that level.
01:30If there's unacceptable risk to the local community, and if the company is operating outside the guidelines provided to them by the EPA, well then we can obviously step in.
01:41In the meantime, locals say they will keep fighting until they can breathe easier.
01:48Thanks for watching.