NSW Planning Minister Tony Kelly handed down three reports on air quality, noise and drinking water yesterday, which concluded that mining companies were adhering to the rules.

‘‘I think it’s just a whitewash over the lot of us and they don’t care about us one bit at all,’’ resident Col Stapleton said.

‘‘The residents know all about what the dust and noise levels are like and now we’re told nothing is wrong. We are the ones who put up with it, not Mr Kelly.’’

Minewatch spokeswoman Wendy Bowman said ‘‘dust dumping’’ days, when the mines carried out blasting, covered the town in a fine layer of grey dust.

‘‘On those days you are covered in it,’’ she said.

‘‘It gets into everything.

‘‘I went overseas last year for three weeks and the house was locked. When I got back everything inside was covered in fine grey dust.’’

Fellow Camberwell resident Deidre Olofsson said the data did not match the reality of living with mines.

‘‘I don’t agree with what they’re saying about the average yearly dust levels," she said.

"You can’t average out health concerns.

"It doesn’t matter what the average is if you’ve got days where the dust is so bad people have [respiratory] problems.’’

Ms Bowman said predictions by NSW Minerals Council chief executive officer Dr Nikki Williams that coalmining in the Hunter could double in the next five years would make life unbearable for residents.

‘‘You would not be able to live in Muswellbrook and Singleton if you doubled the size of the industry,’’ she said.

Mr Stapleton said some residents in Camberwell would like to move out of the area but were effectively trapped.

‘‘We have people in Camberwell who have wanted to sell out since 2002 but the mines were only offering one-half to one-third of the value of their properties,’’ he said.

‘‘... No one else will buy there except for the mines.’’