NEWS > STORIES
DOCTORS FEAR CHEMICAL LINK TO CHILD DISEASE
By Claire Miller
January 30, 2005
A surge in cancer and neurological cases in north-eastern Tasmania since
2002 is consistent with chronic low-level chemical exposure, says a report
to be submitted to the federal Australian Medical Association next month.
The Tasmanian AMA has charted the rise for the first time and wants expert
opinion from the AMA's public health committee. The report says Tasmania has health anomalies including a sudden jump in childhood cancers and
higher-than-average premature births. It says cases documented around St
Helens, on the east coast, in particular are symptomatic of possible
chemical exposure.
The report says a rise in neurological illnesses, reproductive and
gastrointestinal cancers around St Helens is statistically significant over
and above what might be expected through population increases alone. The
rise coincides with the expansion of timber plantations in the catchment
that supplies drinking water.
Plantations are sprayed with chemicals during establishment to kill weeds
and grasses. The local Break O'Day Council, helicopter operators, the Health
Department and the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment
have identified at least a dozen herbicides in use or detected around St
Helens since 2002. Many are known or possible carcinogens or hormone
disrupters.
Tasmania's Director of Public Health, Dr Roscoe Taylor, said cancers and
other health conditions around St Helens did not appear to depart
significantly from the rates expected in a population with similar
demographics. The department has sought independent toxicology advice on the
neurological cases and expects a report in a fortnight.
The Tasmanian AMA president, Launceston-based Dr Michael Aizen, said the Government response in investigating chemical use and testing water was
inadequate, and data available was limited. He wanted more robust,
transparent water testing that correlated with when, where and what
chemicals were applied.
Stan Siejka, northern Tasmania's only neurologist, said that in the past
year he had treated several patients with unexplained neurological symptoms
and definite exposure to chemical spraying. In a typical case, a worker
showed classic symptoms after a field nearby was sprayed, but his employer
called Dr Siejka to claim the worker had not been exposed.
"I don't like to see this complete denial where there is a clear possibility
that he could have been exposed," Dr Siejka said. "The frustration is we
have little access to what precisely has been applied in the area, and it is
very difficult to get independent assessments for the concentrations. A lot
of the chemicals are known to have potential side effects."
Chemicals identified in the St Helens catchment included atrazine and
simazine, classified by the World Health Organisation as Type 2B
carcinogens, meaning they are suspected of causing cancer.
Atrazine is readily absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, according
to a draft review released in October last year by the Australian Pesticides
and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
The review says atrazine, when properly used, is unlikely to pose an
unacceptable risk to human health. However, it also noted the chemical was
moderately toxic to creatures at the bottom of the food chain, including
algae and tiny marine crustaceans. Overall, it said atrazine was slightly to
moderately toxic to humans and other mammals.
Break O'Day Council began monthly water tests for chemical residues in July
last year. The Health Department ordered tests following a community outcry
over the failure to clean up chemicals spilt in a helicopter crash in
November 2003.
Two months later, more than 90 per cent of oysters downstream in Georges Bay
died after a flood.
Break O'Day Mayor Stephen Salter said no chemicals had been detected so far
and the water supply was safe. The council is sampling from the George River
just above its entry into Georges Bay, where dilution is maximised. The St
Helens town water intake is several kilometres upstream.
Alison Bleaney, the St Helens general practitioner who alerted health
authorities to apparent anomalies in illness rates, said the council and
other agencies were using methods to detect individual chemicals and
bacteria, rather than testing whether the water itself was toxic and then
investigating possible causes.
Source:
http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/01/29/1106850163453.html?oneclick=true
Copyright © 2005. The Age Company Ltd.
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