Cr Henry Meskauskas said west Maitland residents had been complaining about emissions from nearby industries for 15years and have had enough.

He said some residents who live in and around the southern end of Denton Park Drive and Regiment Road had experienced sore eyes, noses and throats, asthma attacks, and many complain of vile odours.

In a notice of motion to tonight’s council meeting, Cr Meskauskas will call on support for the council to write to Premier Kristina Keneally and various ministers to undertake a comprehensive independent population health study to assess the impact of coalmining and coal-fired power stations on the health of Hunter residents, including the potential impacts on Maitland residents.

He said the study should also include cumulative impacts of coal dust and emissions from the industrial estate at Rutherford.

He will also push for the council to support a permanent Upper Hunter environment protection authority office and air-quality monitors at Rutherford and Telarah.

A council officer’s response said there had been significant publicity regarding the impact of mining in the Upper Hunter and potential health-related implications.

‘‘Given the distances involved, however, this has limited relevance to Maitland and it is difficult to correlate this issue with that of the Rutherford Industrial Estate,’’ the response said.

‘‘Given the extent of uses in the estate and complexity of the concerns being raised, the issue has obviously been difficult to resolve.’’