The Environment Protection Authority has issued a warning to residents with respiratory problems to stay inside on hot and windy days, because of dust being blown from a Brooklyn industrial estate.

EPA found national air quality standards breached on 13 out of 100 days in Brooklyn and parts of Yarraville. It was confirmed that poor air quality caused by a vast industrial estate north of Geelong Road damages the health. Locals have been warned that high levels of dust can exacerbate heart disease or respiratory problems, including asthma.

EPA's Chief Executive, John Merritt said that people suffering from respiratory problems should take precautions on windy days, until the problem was fixed.

"What's most important from the EPA's perspective is that this dust needs to be contained. We're out there now, working with those operators and holding them to account, to make sure that dust is reduced", Merritt added.

Architect Jamie Atkinson attributed the immediate decline in his health, as a result of his moving from Ashburton, in the east, to Yarraville.

Charlie Volpe, Chairman of the Brooklyn Residents Action Group said, ''We're in the middle of an environmental ticking time bomb. I just want to know my kids are not at risk''.