Health groups to discuss harm to health from coal, CSG

Australia’s massive expansion of coal exports and surge in exploration for coal seam gas will be the topic of discussion at a roundtable for healthcare leaders today in Canberra.

The Health Implications of Energy Policy Roundtable, organised by key national health groups, will hear from experts about the impacts on people’s health from the mining and burning of coal and coal seam gas exploration in particular.

Michael Moore, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, said the impacts of coal on health and climate change was of profound concern to health professionals globally.

“We know that healthier, safer alternatives to current energy supply systems exist - we want that evidence about the impacts on health and wellbeing to be considered in energy policy discussions. We don’t believe this has occurred to date,” he said.

Dr Liz Hanna, President of the Climate & Health Alliance (CAHA) and Convenor of the Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Human Health, said: “Giving the green light to practices that have the potential to cause significant health problems and permanently damage our food and water supplies before a complete assessment of the magnitude of impacts is irresponsible.

“We need evidence that it is safe before proceeding, otherwise we could be letting a very dangerous genie out of the bottle.”

Executive Director of the National Rural Health Alliance Gordon Gregory said rural constituents were concerned about the impost of coal seam gas on farming and grazing land and a better understanding about the human health impacts of this industry was needed.

“This is a new industry in Australia that is expanding at a rapid rate. People in rural and remote communities welcome and encourage expansion in rural industries, but not at the expense of water and soil quality, animal welfare and human health and wellbeing. These need to be evaluated, and the bigger picture taken into account to ensure we protect these valuable resources,” he said.

Five groups - CAHA, Public Health Association of Australia, National Rural Health Alliance, Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association and the Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Human Health - are co-hosting the roundtable and workshop on the health implications of energy policy at the Australian National University today.