Saturday 5 July 2008

Kwinana Health Statistics

Yesterday I blogged about a Cancer Support Association of WA newsletter outlining health stats in the US, today let's look at some stats recorded in Kwinana over the past 10 years or so.

An increase in cancer incidence in Kwinana was predicted by the WA Cancer Registry; Dr. Tim Threlfall in 1997
(“Increase in cancer numbers predicted” Sound Telegraph July 9 1997) (Cancer Incidence and Mortality Projections in WA 1996-2001).

‘87%excess of lung cancer in females in Kwinana’
WA Cancer Registry Report for 1998 - 2002;
“Lung cancer in Kwinana Females 87% higher than the state average”

"The only trend identified in Kwinana is an 87 per cent higher rate of lung cancers among women, which health authorities say is likely to be linked to smoking habits" The postcodes that come with cancer. The West Australian page 1. Tuesday, October 5 2001; This claim of smoking is solely to blame was proven to be false.

"Incidents of lung cancer in females between 1998 and 2002 was 87% higher than the state average".
Town of Kwinana Minutes; ordinary council meeting November 10, 2004, Item 17.1, page CL41 . Report to Council - Cancer Statistics;

“There is a statistically significant excess of cancer in the Rockingham/Kwinana area”. Dr Keith Woollard October 2001

There was no excess of cancer in the Kwinana population prior to 1995 and the timing of the development of an excess rate of cancer seems to fit nicely with the proceeding dramatic increase in pollution from the strip” Dr Keith Woollard 20th January 2004.

The male death rate from cancer in Rockingham/Kwinana was 25 per cent above the state average Health Department figures show” West Australian Wednesday March 6 2002 page 7; data from cancer registry information released to the west but refused to the community.

42% excess of cancer in Hope Valley Wattleup – Cancer registry data.
The DOH finally agreed to provide cancer statistics for the Wattleup and Hope Valley area. This information pointed out correctly, that the population numbers where too small to allow any firm conclusions to be made on that data alone. Nonetheless, they were entirely consistent with the cancer data from the large population groups in Kwinana and Rockingham. Among those population groups, there was a statistically significant excess of cancer. Furthermore, the incident data going back over the last decade then showed that this excess of cancer (in comparison with the rest of the state) only appeared since 1995.

“Health Department figures show a substantial excess of Juvenile cancers in the Rockingham Kwinana area”
Dr. Keith Woollard September 2002.

Deaths from cancer in particular where 17.9% higher than Perth per year on average, and 15.3% higher than Australia by average. November 2005, Population Health Profile of the Rockingham Kwinana Division of General Practice, University of Adelaide; In October 2006, we became aware (by finding it on the www) of this report commissioned by the Federal Government and carried out by the University of Adelaide. This report further confirmed our fears by showing more deaths from chronic illnesses including cancer and respiratory disease etc in Rockingham/Kwinana division of general practice area than in Perth and the rest of the country on average.

A DOH study on hospitalisation rates in Rockingham Kwinana in 2005 Found “An excess of hospitalisations for cardiovascular disease for residents of Kwinana”; “A significant excess of hospitalisation for respiratory disease including Asthma for residents of Kwinana”; An excess of hospitalisations for urinary problems for residents of Kwinana; and that “Kwinana has a significantly younger population than the state”.
(We do not currently have a copy of this report, but it should be available from DOH).

So although Kwinana has the youngest population in the State, it is suffering more health problems than the State averages.

A Health Survey of Cockburn, Kwinana and Rockingham, Department of Health WA; September 2004, ‘The study you carry out when you don’t want to find a problem’. Nonetheless the figures did show an excess in heart disease in both men and women in Kwinana.

“The results are a further confirmation of the likely toxicity of industrial pollution from the Kwinana industrial strip”.

“As demonstrated from major overseas studies, people exposed to industrial pollution have higher rates of heart disease and cancer”

Please Note: Some of the above figures include Rockingham data as well as Kwinana as joint Rockingham/Kwinana studies were carried out. We suspect that the Kwinana rates alone, in the cases above, would be even higher.

According to our authorities these stats have no link whatsover to industrial pollution, however they provide no true evidence to back that claim. In fact just the opposite. And continue to ignore our calls for an full environmental health study.

We have seen in other countries such as the US and UK excess cancer rates of 5% higher in a community than the average triggers whole of Government responses.

One does not have to reason as to why they do this - the answer is simple - If you don't look properly you won't find a problem.

In my view another example of protect industry at any cost.

Friday 4 July 2008

The Environmental Causes of Cancer


This newsletter from the Cancer Support Association of WA makes an interest read.

Some excerpts:

"Environmental carcinogenesis is the newest and one of the most ominous of the end-products of our industrial environment. Though its full scope and extent are still unknown, because it is so new and because the facts are so extremely difficult to obtain, enough is known to make it obvious that extrinsic [outside-the-body] carcinogens present a very immediate and pressing problem in public and individual health."

"Through a continued, unrestrained, needless, avoidable and, in part reckless increasing contamination of the human environment with chemical and physical carcinogens and with chemicals supporting and potentiating their action, the stage is being set indeed for a future occurrence of an acute, catastrophic epidemic, which once present cannot effectively be checked for several decades with the means available nor can its course appreciably be altered once it has been set in motion,"

This is why 50% of all men and 40% of all women in the U.S. will now hear the chilling words, "You've got cancer" at some point in their lives. That's right, 1 out of every 2 men now get cancer in the U.S., and more than 1 out of every 3 women.

Contrary to well-funded rumors, the culprit isn't just tobacco or the hundreds of toxic chemicals intentionally added to tobacco products. Tobacco products remain the single most significant preventable cause of cancer, but they have not been linked to the majority of cancers nor to many of the cancers that have increased most rapidly in recent decades including melanoma, lymphomas, testicular, brain, and bone marrow cancers.[pg. 1]

No, it's more complicated than just tobacco with its toxic additives. Most plastics, detergents, solvents, and pesticides and the toxic-waste by-products of their manufacture came into being after World War II. From the late 1950s to the late 1990s, we disposed of more than 750 million tons of toxic chemical wastes.[pg. 27] Over 40 years, this represents more than two tons of toxic chemical wastes discharged into the environment for each man, woman and child in the U.S. No wonder some of it has come back to bite us.

While all this chemical dumping has been going on, incidence rates for some cancer sites have increased particularly rapidly over the past half century. From 1950-2001, melanoma of the skin increased by 690%, female lung & bronchial cancer increased by 685%, prostate cancer by 286%, myeloma by 273%, thyroid cancer by 258%, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma by 249%, liver and intrahepatic duct cancer by 234%, male lung & bronchial cancer by 204%, kidney and renal pelvis cancers by 182%, testicular cancer by 143%, brain and other nervous system cancers by 136%, bladder cancer by 97%, female breast cancer by 90%, and cancer in all sites by 86%.[pg. 25]

In the most recent 10-year period for which we have data (1992-2001), liver cancer increased by 39%, thyroid cancer increased by 36%, melanoma increased by 26%, soft tissue sarcomas (including heart) by 15%, kidney and renal pelvis cancers by 12%, and testicular cancer increased by 4%.[pg. 25] "

Read more here on why we can't prevent cancer.

Thursday 3 July 2008

The Protection Policy that is incapable of protecting

Tonight the air is fairly thick on this side of Kwinana, the wind has been blowing the pollution from Kwinana Industry into residential areas. The best of the worst are: Verve has had a great plume of grey Particulates pouring from its power station stacks, the CSBP Ammonium Nitrate plume continues unabated, Tiwest's plumes from its 2 stacks are as as bad as ever and BP has a visible plume of Particulates from it cat cracker stack.
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If you listen to the Local and State Government there are measures in place to protect local communities from industrial pollution. The measures usually referred to are DEC licences and the Kwinana Environmental Protection Policy (EPP).
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Let’s take a close look at the Kwinana EPP (the DEC licences will be another blog):
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The Kwinana EPP was introduced and became law in 1992 and to my understanding it was made a legal requirement to review the EPP every 7 years. The EPA claims “The Kwinana EPP was formally reviewed in 1999 and re-issued unchanged. The 1992 Regulations remain in force, and were amended in 1999 to reflect the policy title change” .
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However the policy was not truly reviewed, because the EPA did not consider the latest mounting evidence of medical and air quality research from around the world (it's now 2008 so what happened to the 2006 review?).
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The Kwinana EPP considers only Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Total Suspended Particulates – There is clear evidence that there has not been an ongoing SO2 problem in Kwinana since the early - mid 1990’s and having limits on Total Suspended Particulates does nothing to protect the community against the biggest threat of fine particulate pollution. Many other chemicals/compounds have been ignored for example Ammonia (NH3), Dioxins, Heavy Metals (eg Nickel Ni), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds etc that are proven to cause serious health problems.
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After well over 10 years of dealing with the EPA and the Environmental Protection system of this state, it is clear to me that these systems are much more capable of protecting polluting industry and the economy than they are at protecting the environment and more importantly protecting people from Environmental Harm.
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So don’t be fooled just because the word ‘protect’ appears on the title does not mean that it is capable of protecting this community from industrial pollution – far from it.
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Update: This is from the EPA;
"In accordance with s36(b) of the Environmental Protection Act 1986, the Environmental Protection Authority has deferred the commencement of the review of the Environmental Protection (Kwinana) (Atmospheric Wastes) Policy 1999 as directed by the Minister for the Environment. This direction is in effect until 31 December 2009"
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Too hard basket or another case of protect industry at any cost?

Wednesday 2 July 2008

Make Your Vote Count


An election is looming in WA, voter confidence is at an all time low, just how do we vote to make a difference?

From this story on Perthnow: "Pessimism in the community at levels last seen two decades ago when Paul Keating warned that the nation could become "a banana republic", according to the latest Newspoll standard-of-living survey . In the past six months, the percentage of people who fear their living conditions will "get worse" has more than doubled - the biggest jump in the survey's 23-year history - as the percentage of those expecting an improvement almost halved. Fears about living standards for the next six months are worse than voters experienced before the introduction of the Howard government's GST in July 2000. According to the latest Newspoll survey on standard-of-living expectations, conducted at the weekend, the percentage of people who think their living conditions will get worse in the next six months has gone from just 18 per cent after the November election of the Rudd Government to 43 per cent".

What has Australia become?

We in WA with the state of politics here are probably worse off than the rest of the country - a (so called) Labor Government, who without the hopeless Liberal Opposition would normally have no chance of a return to government and is likely to romp it back into power.

So how can we change the sad situation we face? As I see it: One choice is we vote independant but at the end of the day what good will that do. Another choice is to vote for a party like the Greens, although I have been somewhat disheartened with the Greens, I think this will be my choice - why? - because I think if enough of us do it, this will make a difference, let's face it the Greens will never win enough seats to form a Government, but enough votes to the Greens will certainly shake up Labor and maybe they will once again start listening to the people. Also the Greens do have some good policies.
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As this story shows - Main parties mess is gold for greens - it looks like I am not alone.

PS. Come back Dr. Geoff Gallop - all is forgiven (well almost all - its hard to forgive the "carbon fraud" desal claims).

Monday 30 June 2008

Just How Low will Kwinana Industry go?

Apparently Kwinana Industry has been phoning individuals and groups in regional communities, likely using the Community Industry Forum contact list, attempting to get them to write to Minister for Environment David Templeman to complain about CSMC funding.

Yes Kwinana Industry are trying to get the community to do their dirty work in lobbying Government in an attempt to kill the proposal to make Kwinana Industry pay to dump their industrial waste in Cockburn Sound.

In my view it can’t get much lower; in particular using the contacts from the CIF seems a breach of trust. WE do not give the CIF our contact details for industry to use in this way.


It seems to me that Kwinana Industry is treating this community with contempt.