LOCAL health experts say it will take at least a year until conclusions can be drawn about the potential impact coal dust and the mining industry might have on a person’s health.
Hunter New England Local Health District public health physician Craig Dalton said there was concern about the harm fine particles from woodsmoke, cars, power stations and diesel trucks could cause, as these could get lodged “deep down in the lungs”.
He said these elements were common features on mining sites, which have been questioned by health authorities for some time.
Dr Dalton is hopeful that the state government’s Upper Hunter Air Quality Monitoring Network will provide insight into the potential health impacts of the mining industry – but it will take at least a year until reasonable conclusions can be made.
“The Upper Hunter Air Quality Monitoring Network will tell us what people are actually breathing,” he said.
“At the moment there is no conclusive evidence of the relationship between coalmining and health impacts.”
There are 14 air-quality (dust) monitoring stations, including at Muswellbrook and Singleton, that have also monitored wind speed and wind direction daily since December last year.
Dr Dalton said it was also too soon to determine if there was a correlation between mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety, and mining communities.
Further north in Gunnedah, Barwon Division of General Practice chairman Grahame Deane said he had not yet seen a connection, either.
“There have been coalmines in Gunnedah for decades, before Shenhua Watermark Coal and BHP Billiton came here,” he said.
“I think personally the greatest health issue has been depression caused by drought.
“There are no warning bells at this stage for people from mines and their communities for increased depressive-type illnesses.
“It’s early days for the Liverpool Plains.”
Dr Deane, who is based at the Gunnedah GP Super Clinic, said he had had patients who had been killed in mining accidents – but he realised that accidents happened in all industries.
“The mining industry is a very well-regulated industry with good occupational health and safety standards,” he said.
“I have no concern for increased illnesses in Gunnedah caused by the mining industry.”
Dr Dalton said there were some studies published that claimed there were more premature deaths in industrial areas, like mining centres.
“But the main focus now is to look at the data from the air-quality monitoring to understand the potential risks,” he said.
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