Friday 20 June 2008

Climate Change in your backyard

Here is the link to a presentation (PDF File) given to the State Administrative Tribunal by Barry Carbon ex head of the EPA in WA.

It highlights local WA effects of Climate Change.

Mr Barry Carbon is no 'radical activist' but rather a very conservative bureaucrat who currently heads the WA Waste Management Board.

Thursday 19 June 2008

Is BP Kwinana SAFE?

After reading this story from a whistle blower on crikey we are once again left asking: IS BP KWINANA REFINERY SAFE?

Go to the Crikey website http://www.crikey.com.au/ (highly recomended) for more.

Here are examples of a couple of other times that we have asked the question:



BP is the largest oil refinery in Australia

Update: BP response to Crickey is here.

Polluter should Pay


Update on the Kwinana Industry care bears for Cockburn Sound story:

It seems, as we thought, that Kwinana Industry isn’t all that worried about Cockburn Sound and the Cockburn Sound Management Council after all. What they are most worried about and why they have been attacking the Government over CSMC funding is because the Government is proposing to make the polluter pay. Minister David Templeman stated in a press release today “I am currently exploring other funding options to further boost their (CSMC) capabilities. This includes the possibility of increasing license fees for the major emitters into the Cockburn Sound”

Therein lays the answer dear readers.

The polluters that are Kwinana Industry don’t want to pay to pollute! They want you the taxpayers of the state to pay.

And most of our media got sucked in again.
However… Mr Templeman in his press release made a big mistake when he said “Water quality in the Cockburn Sound has never been better” The water quality dear Minister has been better – much better, I can still recall how it was before Kwinana Industry did the damage.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

Today’s Best of the Worst

Tiwest for the yellow plume spewing from one of it’s stacks for at least an hour. Suspected (as yet unconfirmed) Chlorine Gas release to join it’s white plumes.

Update: Also this morning at around 06:30 Tiwest apparently had a gas release that crossed Patterson Road. Workers etc where not notified. Passing motorists where affected and 000 was called.

So much for Kwinana Industries emergency notification.

As this story from 2007 shows:

We have always wondered why there was a significant increase in cancer in the local community in 1995/1996, before this Kwinana cancer rates were lower than the state average. According to health department data; In 1995/96 cancer rates in the local community jumped around 20%

I have said many times that I suspected something changed in Kwinana industry in the early 90’s that triggered the jump in cancer rates.

Today (01-08-07) we have received news that Titanium Dioxide (Ti02) has been listed as an IARC-2B carcinogen. They have proven that ultra fine particles (dust) of Titanium Dioxide causes cancer in animals. Insufficient research has been done on the effects of Ti02 on humans.

Tiwest Kwinana Titanium Dioxide Pigment Plant was commissioned full time in 1991.

Could there be a link?

Tiwest denied a link by claiming they “do not produce ultra fine titanium dioxide”… Yet Tiwest do have ultra fine particles of titanium dioxide… the Tiwest web site states “The pigment goes through a finishing process which involves milling, classification, surface treatment, filtering, drying and micronising prior to packaging for distribution to domestic and international markets”… The definition of micronising in dictionary means mi·cron·ize (mkr-nz)
tr.v. mi·cron·ized, mi·cron·iz·ing, mi·cron·iz·es
To reduce to particles that are only a few microns in diameter

And this classification from an engineer with many years experience in heavy industry “Microniser is somewhat like an ordinary centrifical pump casing ,..(somewhat snail shell-like in appearance) laid flat on it's side..where the inlet is used to admit the pre-ground pigment, along with very high pressure ( 1200 psi ) steam ( at about 700 + degrees F ).........this results in the pigment being forced at high speed around the inside of the casing , where it is belted against the sides of the casing , ........and where the particles collide with each other ,...breaking them further down in size...to extremely fine..because that is what the customer wants to make paints or,.. act as a filler in the paper industry etc ............... and don't forget, I am talking about the technology of over 40 years ago !! ...... any changes to the above will have been to obtain an even finer product...because as I have already said ...that is what their customers want..and ...the finer the better.”

For Tiwest to claim it is free of fine particles of Ti02 seems questionable.

Also the only reason Tio2 is not yet classified as a human carcinogen is because there has been insufficient testing/studies… It has been confirmed as a positive animal carcinogen and is likely that it will also one day be proven a human carcinogen (like most other chemicals that have been classified animal carcinogens) that’s good enough for me to be concerned.

Tiwest is about to expand - God help us!

Sowwy I forgot there is no pollution, Kwinana industry is 'Clean and Green'.

BTW ever seen the movie Silkwood?.. Ever heard the name Kerr McGee? Feel free to check it out yourselves.

Are you tired of the spin?

Premier Allan Carpenter’s speech to the state last night well sums up the state of play in today’s spin doctoring world.

To some, his speech was just another example of the dictator he, or rather this labour government have become. To others it was just another feel good exercise developed by the spin doctors that control much of this states media – One day soon I should post a blog with examples of how, down this part of the world, doctors of spin basically write their own media articles (even front page stories) word for word.


Yes an exercise designed to make the gullible WA public believe they can feel good by sitting in the cold conserving gas for large industrial users, and saving the economy.

The premier failed to tell us that domestic gas use is a mere 3% of the total as big industry sucks the most gas. He also forgot to mention what happened, why it happened - where were the major hazardous facility regulator/s, why the state had no emergency plan for such a crisis, why he refused to enact a state of emergency, why we have to rely on multi-national corporations to provide critical services and when the crisis will be over.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t for one second imagine that the liberal party would have handled the situation any differently or any better, but it does show how our government which ever party is in power, survives on spin rather than skill.

Living alongside some of the states most dangerous major hazardous facilities I will be joining in on the demands to make every bit of the investigation report into this explosion public so we can all see what went wrong and try and ensure it doesn’t happen again elsewhere.


But aren't you just tired of all of the spin.

Update: Check out the latest info on the explosion from an insider posted on Crikey, also a whistle blower on BP Kwinana on the same page.

Kwinana Industry's - the care bears for Cockburn Sound


Does it give you a warm fuzzy feeling that all of a sudden Kwinana Industry has decided to paint itself as the care bears for Cockburn Sound.

Well the media fell for it why shouldn’t the rest of us?

One cannot help but be very suspicious

Why is Kwinana industry trying so hard to protect Cockburn Sound Management Council?

Maybe you, like I, can read between the lines?

Is it cheaper for Kwinana Industry to provide a paltry amount of funding to a toothless lobby group like CSMC than it is to spend the required amount on pollution control?

Here is a recent letter I wrote:

Response to Cockburn Sound Management Claims April 10, 2008

We are saddened by the case that it seems Cockburn Sound Management Council (CSMC) has fallen into the Kwinana Industry spin trap. We ask the question; were these comments by CSMC approved by the full council?

CSMC says we should forget about the past damage to Cockburn Sound, and claims that 75% of sea grass in Cockburn Sound has been lost, however many Government reports state that 97% of the sea grass in Cockburn Sound has been destroyed. Without doubt the vast majority of this mass destruction has been caused by Industry and can never be repaired. We are sure Kwinana Industry would want the local community to forget about this, but we are sure that the wider community will not.

Since 2000 Cockburn Sound has been described in many Government reports as the 2nd most degraded marine environment in Australia.

Contaminated Groundwater Plumes have either entered Cockburn Sound or are currently entering Cockburn Sound; these include hydrocarbons, arsenic, caustic, metals and radionuclides.

Many other contaminated groundwater plumes or are hanging off the coast threatening to enter Cockburn Sound these plumes include herbicides/pesticides, arsenic, PCB’s etc. In fact at least 13 of these many plumes have been categorised as “high priority” – of high risk to Cockburn Sound.

CS protection policy includes low protection zones – the area’s where industry waste discharges, it is unsafe to fish, swim or carry out any other recreational activities in these areas.

Many Industries still discharge waste to Cockburn Sound, these include: Tiwest/Nufarm Coogee, BP, Water Corp, Advanced Ceramics Plant and Cockburn Cement.

Some of the contaminants being discharged into Cockburn Sound from industry include:

Fluorides, chlorides, sulphates, sodium, hydrocarbons, nitrates, dissolved solids, suspended solids, ammonium compounds, radionuclides (low level radioactive material) and heavy metals including chromium etc.

Past testing has shown that sediments on the sea bed in area’s of Cockburn Sound contain “relatively high levels of contaminants” including Arsenic, TBT’s, Nickel, Mercury, Copper, Chromium and Magnesium.

TBT’s in areas of Cockburn Sound are above guideline levels and are known to be affecting marine life.
A number of industries including BP and Power Stations use sea water from Cockburn Sound as cooling water etc, this water is returned to Cockburn Sound heated and can contain contaminants such as anti-scaling compounds.

We have seen examples in the past where sample point locations in Cockburn Sound have been moved from previous points which has resulted in lower concentrations of contaminants reported, giving the false belief that sediment contamination has reduced, we question whether this practice still takes place?

At the end of the claims made have awoken the local community. Many in the community are outraged at the way the Cockburn Sound issue is being portrayed.

Cockburn Sound Research References:

1. Kwinana Industrial Area Central Core Environmental Strategy.
2. Southern Metropolitan Coastal Waters Study.
3. Perth’s Coastal Waters Environmental Values and Objectives EPA February 2000.
4. Tiwest Expansion to 180,000 tpa Consultative Environmental Review.
5. James Point Private Port Public Environmental Review.
6. Major Findings of the state of the Marine Environment report. Ocean Rescue 2000 program.
7. Towards Optimising Kwinana Final Report.
8. Kwinana Regional Strategy.
9. Rockingham Kwinana Community the way life should be 2000.
10. D.E.P.
11. Com-Net.
12. Letter of response from DEP Kwinana July 2001.
13. State of Cockburn Sound Cockburn Sound Management Council 2004 and 2007.
14. Status of groundwater quality in the Cockburn Sound catchment CSIRO February 2006.
15. The Geomorphology and Sediments of Cockburn Sound 2005.
16. Seiching in Cockburn Sound UWA 2001.
17. Hydrology and aquifer propagation in Cockburn Sound CSIRO 2001
18. Case study of modern sediments and stratigraphy of Cockburn Sound.

I am not suggesting other pressures have no effect or risk, but still believe that the risk from Industry including its discharges to the sound, its many contaminated groundwater plumes and the pollution from the air that falls on Cockburn Sound are still probably the biggest threat.

Also what effect does excessive noise have on the Marine Life of Cockburn Sound.
Hopefully the wider community will see right through this as I do.

Update : See Polluter should pay for the update of this story.

Tuesday 17 June 2008

Wealth Creates Poverty?


Video - Dr. Michael Parenti: "Terrorism, Globalization and Conspiracy"


"Globalization is an attempt to extend corporate monopoly control over the whole globe. Over every national economy. Over every local economy Over every life".

Monday 16 June 2008

Let Us Not Forget

The most recent photo of Dot Hesse 2006 by A. Gade.

At about 2.30am on this day two years ago I recieved a phone call from my Mum saying she could not breathe, after phoning the ambulance I headed to her house in Kwinana, doing 145km/hr down the Kwinana Freeway. By the time I arrived the ambo's told me it was too late and nothing could be done.

My Mum Dot Hesse passed away suddenly on 16 June, 2006. She is deeply missed.

It seems the pollution that Mum fought so hard to improve may have finally caught up with her, on the day of her death and previous days the particulate levels were extremly high and she died due to blood clots.

The work she did for this community goes on, but it is not easy without her knowledge, tenacity and care.

This speech by Dr Judy Edwards MLA pretty much sums it up:
Parliament of Western Australia
DOT HESSE - ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST
Statement by Member for Maylands
DR J.M. EDWARDS
(Maylands) [12.59 pm]:


"I take this opportunity to briefly acknowledge the passing of one of the state’s most significant environmental activists, Mrs Dot Hesse. Dot died very suddenly last Friday morning, and she will be missed by us all. I was honoured and privileged to have been invited into Dot’s home when I was opposition spokesperson for the environment. I had kept in contact with Dot over the past 10 or so years. Dot was well known to people in many parts of the government. She was not perhaps always favourably regarded because she was very forthright and, at times, very loud. However, on all occasions she was absolutely committed to environmental protection, particularly environmental health and good outcomes. She was a stalwart in the Kwinana area, and she will be sadly missed. I acknowledge all the work she has performed. On all the occasions I met her, although at times exceedingly passionate, she was particularly concerned about workers and their health and about the environment. She was a remarkable woman because in my last meeting with her, while on the one hand she was pretty angry with a perceived lack of government action on an issue, she was able to engage on a person-to-person basis in a constructive manner. Vale, Dot Hesse, and thank you for all the work you have done for us all".

We remember you Mum. We miss you Mum. We will never forget.