And the richer you are, the more likely you are to breathe clean air, according to an analysis just published by a green campaigning group.

The report by the Australian Conservation Foundation finds that the ACT is cleaner than other major cities in Australia but within it there are sources of industrial pollution, with Fyshwick and its surrounds the biggest source of industrial pollution.

It says government figures show that the biggest industrial emitter in the ACT is the Boral Mugga Lane Quarry within the Fyshwick postcode. The researchers say it's responsible for nearly two thirds of the industrial pollution in that part of the ACT.

Overall in the ACT, the researchers said there were three polluting facilities in the Fyshwick postcode, two each in Dunlop and Kaleen and one in each of Crace, Curtin, Manuka and Molonglo.

But the report indicates that the territory does not have the scale of industrial pollution of other major Australian cities.

The researchers pinpointed the major sources of industrial pollution right across the country by using official government figures and then matched those enterprises to post codes and to the average income in that area.

The report, "The Dirty Truth: Australia's most polluted postcodes", says the evidence is that pollution and poverty go hand in hand and that this means that unhealthiness and illness are more likely among poorer people.

It says, "All too often the most vulnerable bear the highest burden of air pollution".

It's not clear if poorer people end up living nearer dirty industry because houses are cheaper there or whether industry moves to areas where land is cheaper, according to the report authors.

"It is likely both are true to an extent", they say.

These poor communities, the authors argue, have few advocates while big industry like mining have more political clout.

The result is that "environmentally hazardous industries such as waste landfills, manufacturing facilities, resource extraction and mining sites - all of which are non-residential activities - pose extreme risks to health and are most prevalent in the low income and middle income communities of Australia".

It says that more than 90 per cent of industrial pollution in Australia comes from manufacturing, mining, power generation and waste and water processing.

The most polluted postcodes often contain the city's airport - it's true of Canberra as well as Sydney, Darwin and Brisbane.

One of the authors of the report, economist Matt Rose, told the Canberra Times that the very richest people in the land had virtually no proximity to heavy industry which polluted.

To avoid pollutants, he said, rich people could buy a house in a clean suburb. "The best way is to have money", he said.

Across Australia, the city areas with a close proximity between people and heavy industry are