No sign of health woes in New Chum
QUEENSLAND Health says it has no evidence of health problems from the New Chum dump despite cancer warnings by Patricia Petersen.
Dr Petersen has been accused of scaremongering in her campaign against the waste dump owned by Transpacific.
Last week, she sent a leaflet to residents within a kilometre of the site comparing it to Transpacific's Tullamarine dump in Victoria.
"You are at serious risk of cancer and other life-threatening illnesses from the New Chum toxic dump and the chemicals and toxic, hazardous waste that is in it," the leaflet said.
"How do we know this? Many residents living within 4km of the Transpacific Tullamarine waste landfill, which was closed down in 2008, are suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses. The toxic dump at New Chum is significantly larger than the toxic dump at Tullamarine and you are living extremely close to it."
Last Saturday, Dr Petersen fronted a public meeting in Riverview wearing a protective suit, mask and booties that she said shielded her from toxic waste.
This week, Queensland Health hosed down her claims, saying there was no evidence linking the dump to cancer or other serious diseases.
"The West Moreton Public Health Unit has not received any calls or inquiries with regard to Transpacific New Chum Landfill," a spokesman said.
"Nor have we been contacted or informed of any concerns from medical practitioners regarding presentations directly linked to this site.
"Recent claims in the media have linked this site with 'cancer and other life-threatening illnesses'. There are many different causes for cancer and people of all ages are at risk, although this increases with age."
He said people concerned about their health should visit a medical practitioner because, in many cancers, early detection and treatment improved outcomes.
DIVISIVE DUMP
Transpacific has applied to expand the dump capacity from 50,000 to 1.9 million tonnes/year.
Last week, Transpacific told Ipswich City Council it wanted to delay its application to expand the dump.
