The M5 East Motorway includes a 4 km long tunnel that is ventilated through a single exhaust stack system. The exhaust stack is located in Turrella and is designed to remove all motor vehicle exhaust emissions from the tunnel. In the first half of 2002, immediately after the opening of the tunnel, NSW Health received over 80 complaints from local residents who believed their health was being affected by the stack exhaust. Monitoring in the local area showed that pollutant levels had not changed, so there was no apparent cause for the symptoms.
After consultation with key stakeholders and experts, NSW Health developed a multi phase investigation strategy to examine the health concerns and symptoms of the local residents. This report is of Phase 1 of that strategy