Dr Larelle Fabbro, CQU Centre for Environmental Management A Central Queensland University research group has been awarded one of 5 prestigious national 2007 ACARP (Australian Coal Research Limited) Awards for Research Excellence.

The ACARP Awards are made every 2 years to research groups who have enjoyed scientific success and excellence in addressing a significant coal industry problem.

Given the competence of the science providers engaged in the 175 current research projects considered for this award it is a real accomplishment for CQU to win this award and a strong vote of confidence in the research team.

The CQU Centre for Environmental Management group, lead by Dr Larelle Fabbro, has been awarded for the best health and environment project researching mine water quality, in particular controlling the spread of blue-green algae. This project was undertaken with the assistance of mine sites in the Bowen basin, particularly those of BMA under the supervision of the BMA specialists Dr Bernie Kirsch and Rob Alford.

This project addressed improvement in water quality of pit and recycled mine waters in the Bowen Basin including detailed study of issues related to the toxicity and management of blue-green algae. Substantial progress in the understanding of the mechanisms causing algal blooms in mining pits and recycled waters has been made during the project.

Information collected from this project is being used to construct international guidelines for industry.

Dr Fabbro is also the director of CQU's environmental sciences and sustainability programs and is updating these programs at CQU to include the most relevant techniques and training needed to meet the demands of current resource development.