Region. Air quality to worsen

Sydney’s air quality is only going to get worse, with a state government report, compiled by the Department of the Environment, Climate Change and Water, signalling that residents will suffer from rising levels of ozone, a primary cause of respiratory diseases such as asthma. The problem will be worst in the region stretching from Richmond in the north to Macarthur in the south and centred on Bringelly - identified as major growth areas for the city - where ozone is already found at higher levels than the rest of Sydney. ''Two new power stations in the Blue Mountains and Campbelltown, both areas with a high prevalence of asthma, will only add to the problem,'' the CEO, of the Asthma Foundation NSW, Greg Smith, in The Sydney Morning Herald.