Published Friday, 06 July, 2007 at 11:53 AM
Premier and Minister for Trade
The Honourable Peter Beattie
BEATTIE ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE AIR QUALITY TESTING FOR GLADSTONE
GLADSTONE: The State Government will undertake a comprehensive two-year investigation into Gladstone’s air quality to identify any potential health risks for the community, Premier Peter Beattie announced today.
Mr Beattie said that despite extensive testing over more than a decade finding no link between airborne pollution and increased health risks, many people in the Gladstone area remained concerned about the impact of air pollution on their health.
“This two-year investigation will give us a complete picture about the quality of air in Gladstone and any impact it is likely to have on community health,” Mr Beattie said.
“The State Government has also arranged for an independent review by a leading epidemiologist of Queensland Health’s statistical analysis of health risks in Gladstone which found elevated levels of Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia,” Mr Beattie said.
The independent review will be conducted by Professor Roder who is currently head of research at the Cancer Council in South Australia.
“Some people in the Gladstone community have raised concerns about potential health issues caused by airborne pollution, and the apparently high level of Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia,” Mr Beattie said.
“They need reassurance that living in Gladstone will not harm them or their family’s health and this investigation will give us the hard facts we need to make a conclusive analysis of any health risks.
“This will be an open and transparent study coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency and Queensland Health.
“A community reference group and an industry reference group will be established to contribute to the study.
“Gladstone and Calliope councils will be represented on a Steering Committee along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Queensland Health and the Department of State Development.
“They will report back to public forums every six months on progress of the project.
“If there is evidence that industry or other sources are causing pollution which is found to be making people sick, we will act immediately to fix it,” Mr Beattie said.
“The EPA will lead the investigation collecting air quality data, which will then be analysed by Queensland Health to see if there is any impact on human health. An independent environmental specialist will be appointed to review the findings.
Mr Beattie said that in the interim, the EPA would be stepping up its monitoring of air pollution and industry compliance to minimise harmful air pollution.
“The EPA has been monitoring air quality in Gladstone since 1979 measuring key industry pollutants nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, particles less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and visibility reducing particles,” Mr Beattie said.
“These tests have shown that the air quality in Gladstone is well within national standards.
“Tests have also been carried out at various times for a range of other potentially harmful chemicals, and these have also found that they are within safe levels.
“To allay community concern, we will now be consistently testing for the wider range of potential pollutants, and where technically possible, these will be monitored in real time so that any action required can be taken immediately.
“The EPA will also go well beyond past practices of simply inspecting individual industries.
“In the latest Budget, the government committed an additional $5 million to enable the EPA to improve environmental compliance by industry and Gladstone will be the first city to benefit from this initiative.
“Our aim is to ensure that air quality in the area is meeting all the appropriate standards.”
Mr Beattie said Queensland Health would examine a wide range of data to see if there was any evidence of adverse impacts on human health, including any trends relating to disease and illness in the community.
“We know people are concerned that the air in Gladstone might be causing illness and a scientific investigation is the only way to address these concerns.
“This will give people the answers they are looking for, as well as reassurance that their concerns are being taken seriously.”
Mr Beattie said Queensland Health was already investigating concerns about elevated Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia (CLL) levels in Gladstone.
Preliminary findings suggest, that statistically, there was one extra case per year of CLL in Gladstone compared to the Queensland average. But there were no significant differences between Gladstone and the rest of Queensland for asthma, stillbirths and overall cancer incidence.
This includes the incidence of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, the type of leukaemia most strongly linked to environmental pollutants such as benzene.
These findings will now be subject to an independent review by leading epidemiologist Professor David Roder who is currently head of research at the Cancer Council in South Australia.
Professor Roder was selected for his expertise in cancer epidemiology and the fact that he was independent of government. He is a noted reviewer of cancer papers for international scientific journals as well as being a member of high level medical committees, including chair of the Advisory Board of the Biostatistics Collaboration of Australia.
Mr Beattie said Gladstone was one of the industrial jewels in Queensland’s economic crown.
“That does not mean that the people of Gladstone should have air quality that endangers their health,” Mr Beattie said.
“At the end of the day, the people of Gladstone will know exactly what is in the air they breathe, and they will be able to breathe easier knowing that we are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that it is safe for them to live and work here,” Mr Beattie said.
Media contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500
6 July 2007
Mr Beattie said that despite extensive testing over more than a decade finding no link between airborne pollution and increased health risks, many people in the Gladstone area remained concerned about the impact of air pollution on their health.
“This two-year investigation will give us a complete picture about the quality of air in Gladstone and any impact it is likely to have on community health,” Mr Beattie said.
“The State Government has also arranged for an independent review by a leading epidemiologist of Queensland Health’s statistical analysis of health risks in Gladstone which found elevated levels of Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia,” Mr Beattie said.
The independent review will be conducted by Professor Roder who is currently head of research at the Cancer Council in South Australia.
“Some people in the Gladstone community have raised concerns about potential health issues caused by airborne pollution, and the apparently high level of Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia,” Mr Beattie said.
“They need reassurance that living in Gladstone will not harm them or their family’s health and this investigation will give us the hard facts we need to make a conclusive analysis of any health risks.
“This will be an open and transparent study coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency and Queensland Health.
“A community reference group and an industry reference group will be established to contribute to the study.
“Gladstone and Calliope councils will be represented on a Steering Committee along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Queensland Health and the Department of State Development.
“They will report back to public forums every six months on progress of the project.
“If there is evidence that industry or other sources are causing pollution which is found to be making people sick, we will act immediately to fix it,” Mr Beattie said.
“The EPA will lead the investigation collecting air quality data, which will then be analysed by Queensland Health to see if there is any impact on human health. An independent environmental specialist will be appointed to review the findings.
Mr Beattie said that in the interim, the EPA would be stepping up its monitoring of air pollution and industry compliance to minimise harmful air pollution.
“The EPA has been monitoring air quality in Gladstone since 1979 measuring key industry pollutants nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, particles less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and visibility reducing particles,” Mr Beattie said.
“These tests have shown that the air quality in Gladstone is well within national standards.
“Tests have also been carried out at various times for a range of other potentially harmful chemicals, and these have also found that they are within safe levels.
“To allay community concern, we will now be consistently testing for the wider range of potential pollutants, and where technically possible, these will be monitored in real time so that any action required can be taken immediately.
“The EPA will also go well beyond past practices of simply inspecting individual industries.
“In the latest Budget, the government committed an additional $5 million to enable the EPA to improve environmental compliance by industry and Gladstone will be the first city to benefit from this initiative.
“Our aim is to ensure that air quality in the area is meeting all the appropriate standards.”
Mr Beattie said Queensland Health would examine a wide range of data to see if there was any evidence of adverse impacts on human health, including any trends relating to disease and illness in the community.
“We know people are concerned that the air in Gladstone might be causing illness and a scientific investigation is the only way to address these concerns.
“This will give people the answers they are looking for, as well as reassurance that their concerns are being taken seriously.”
Mr Beattie said Queensland Health was already investigating concerns about elevated Chronic Lymphoid Leukaemia (CLL) levels in Gladstone.
Preliminary findings suggest, that statistically, there was one extra case per year of CLL in Gladstone compared to the Queensland average. But there were no significant differences between Gladstone and the rest of Queensland for asthma, stillbirths and overall cancer incidence.
This includes the incidence of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, the type of leukaemia most strongly linked to environmental pollutants such as benzene.
These findings will now be subject to an independent review by leading epidemiologist Professor David Roder who is currently head of research at the Cancer Council in South Australia.
Professor Roder was selected for his expertise in cancer epidemiology and the fact that he was independent of government. He is a noted reviewer of cancer papers for international scientific journals as well as being a member of high level medical committees, including chair of the Advisory Board of the Biostatistics Collaboration of Australia.
Mr Beattie said Gladstone was one of the industrial jewels in Queensland’s economic crown.
“That does not mean that the people of Gladstone should have air quality that endangers their health,” Mr Beattie said.
“At the end of the day, the people of Gladstone will know exactly what is in the air they breathe, and they will be able to breathe easier knowing that we are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that it is safe for them to live and work here,” Mr Beattie said.
Media contact: Premier’s office 3224 4500
6 July 2007