Potential indoor sources include electrostatic photocopiers, laser printers, electrostatic precipitators for air cleaning, ionisers and ozone-based sterilisers Lead in old house paint presents the main health risks to occupants, especially children, due to flaking and chalking of the paint. People are more likely to be exposed during renovations. Assessment of building-related illnesses in Australia has been very limited but research so far suggests a general dissatisfaction with office air environments. We cannot adequately assess outdoor ambient air quality over much of Australia because of a lack of data. Air quality in industrial areas such as Port Kembla, Broken Hill and Boolaroo in New South Wales and Port Pirie in South Australia is often a major concern.
Smelters can emit lead and other heavy metal compounds into the air.
Port Pirie, a city of some 15,000 people, is the site of the world's largest pyrometallurgical lead smelter, in operation since the 1890s. Agricultural burning, bushfires, fuel-reduction burns and aerial spraying can all emit a range of substances, including particles and VOCs. Environmental damage from acid deposition can occur when the extra acid added to surface soil or water exceeds the capacity of these ecosystems to accommodate it. Acid deposition is not a widespread problem in Australia, as sources are generally geographically isolated from each other. Unlike many countries in the northern hemisphere, where emissions generated in one country may affect another's air quality, Australia is not currently subject to significant incoming air pollution.