Hazelwood mine re pollution blamed for 11 deaths

7.30 Victoria By Sarah Farnsworth, Madeleine Morris, Rhiana Whitson

Updated Sat 13 Sep 2014, 12:20am

There is a high probability that 11 deaths after the Hazelwood coal
mine re were caused by air pollution, a leading expert says.
Adrian Barnett, from the Queensland University of Technology, analysed
ofcial Births, Deaths and Marriages data, which was obtained by 7:30 and
was not seen by the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry.
The re burned for 45 days, near Morwell in Melbourne's south-east in
February, putting thick, acrid smoke over the nearby town.
PHOTO: The Hazelwood coal re mine burned for
45 days, near the town of Morwell in February in
2014. (Supplied: Keith Pakenham, CFA)
RELATED STORY: Government rejects Hazelwood air
quality recommendation
RELATED STORY: Victoria health chief defends
decision on Morwell South warning
MAP: Morwell 3840

In the rst week of the re, about 20 reghters were treated for carbon
monoxide poisoning, while vulnerable residents were advised to leave weeks later.

Associate Professor Barnett looked at the monthly number of deaths from four postcode areas in and around Morwell
from 2009 to 2014.

Based on an analysis of gures, he said there was a high probability there had been 11 premature deaths in the Latrobe
Valley that could be attributed to the mine re.

"There are hundreds of other studies showing that when exposed to air pollution the risk of death increases," he said.

He said his analysis took into account the high temperatures around the
same time.
I really want an answer, I
"There is very strong evidence that heat also kills people so I was able to have to nd out why he
adjust for monthly temperature," he said. was snatched like that
"The probability of an increase risk of death came down to 81 per cent and
because it does not make
an 11 per cent risk - so it's a small reduction." sense.
Kiery-Anne Clissold
He said the number of deaths warranted an investigation.

Morwell woman says partner's death was due to air pollution

Kiery-Anne Clissold said her partner Harry McCormack, who died of an aneurism on Saturday, was a light smoker, but
otherwise healthy.

"He never suffered from a headache in his life - he was t as a mountain bull," Ms Clissold said.

Ms Clissold said she believed his death was linked to the unsafe levels of air pollution that Morwell residents were
exposed to during the mine re.

"The only time in our whole near 30 years together when he suffered any
headache - to the point of vomiting - was during that time of that horrible,
Hazelwood mine re
horrible smoke that we had to come back to," she said.

"When it did affect him he had massive headaches and was vomiting."

She said she and her partner were forced to ee the town, because of his
headaches.

"When it hit him he couldn't get out of the house quick enough - we got so
ill we had to ee and we ed three times," she added.
Ms McCormack said her doctor told her that aneurisms were not common,
Look back at the mine re in Morwell that burned for
and she has asked the coroner to investigate. 45 days.

"I really want an answer, I have to nd out why he was snatched like that
because it does not make sense," she said.

Victorian coroner Ian Gray said that he would consider the request.

"Now that the inquiry has nished and the report has been released, I will be considering the request for a coronial
investigation," Coroner Gray said in a statement.

Voices for the Valley investigated deaths

Local group Voices of the Valley, which formed during the re, obtained the gures from Births, Deaths and Marriages
after noticing an increase in death notices in the local paper.

Wendy Farmer, a member of the group, said concerns were initially raised when animals started to die.

"We noticed that quite a few people were dying and we started taking note of what the death notices were saying," Ms
Farmer said.

"Instead of saying 'after a long illness', quite a few were saying 'suddenly',
so we became concerned," she said.
We were told that people
"They were 50 [years old and] upwards - there were some quite old but weren't going to die and
there were some that were 50, 55 which seemed to early to have died we kind of believed that
suddenly." sort of - then we started to
Another member of the group, Ron Ipsen, said before they received the look at what was actually
ofcial data, they drew up their own research on local deaths to present to happening.
the Hazelwood inquiry. Ron Ipsen

"We were told that people weren't going to die and we kind of believed that
sort of - then we started to look at what was actually happening," Mr Ipsen
said.

Mr Ipsen said the group was unable to gain access to ofcial data from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in
time to present to the inquiry.

But Voices for the Valley were able to share their own anecdotal evidence with the inquiry.

Inquiry responds to groups Hazelwood concerns

Voices of the Valley's anecdotal research was enough to elicit a response from the inquiry.

In an email to the group, the inquiry's principal legal advisor said the gures would be passed on to the relevant
authorities.

"The board notes that the matters raised in your letter are of concern and for that reason, will pass the information on to
the Department of Health and Victorian Coroner," the email stated.

The Department of Health said it had received the Voices of the Valley's gures and they were being analysed.

But in a statement, it also said its own investigations into ofcial birth deaths and marriages gures showed there was no
increase in deaths during the time of the re.

"We have also received ofcial data from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages on deaths in Morwell,
Churchill, Moe and Traralgon from January to June in the years 2009 to 2014 inclusive.
The data shows no increase in deaths in Morwell during the period of the Hazelwood open cut coal mine re
compared with the same period in previous years."

However, the Department's ofcial gures also did not reach the Hazelwood mine re inquiry, so they have not yet been
scrutinised.
Government denies link between re and deaths
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said he could rule out that people had died because of air pollution in the area.

"There have not been deaths and no indications of such," Mr Ryan said.

"But by the same token we are concerned, of course, to undertake the health studies the inquiry has recommended and
we will do that."

Following ve months of investigation, the Hazelwood inquiry did nd the smoke and ash clouds had what it called
"distressing" health impacts.

Head of the inquiry, Justice Bernard Teague, also acknowledged that the
advice to relocate given by the Chief Health Ofcer Rosemary Lester came
too late. Our sick die early and our
young are getting sick
"As it turned out the best time to make sure that people were not exposed when they shouldn't.
to those... ashens and fumes, was in the rst couple of weeks," Justice There are things that a
Teague said.
totally not right.
Of particular concern to residents is what any exposure to small particles Ron Ipsen
known as PM 2.5 would have in years to come on a town with one of the
poorest health records in the state.

The re inquiry was told people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions were at risk from acerbated problems, and
hospital admissions and death could increase.

Ron Ipsen said the community was concerned about those health affects into the future.

"We don't know how many years it's taken off our life. We do know that those that were a little bit sick, anything they were
sick with was accelerated," he said.

"Our sick die early and our young are getting sick when they shouldn't.

"There are things that are totally not right."

More on this story:

Crews battling coal mine re treated for carbon monoxide exposure
Very poor air quality at Morwell as 'frustrating' Hazelwood mine re continues to burn
Air quality has deteriorated dramatically at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley
Morwell mine re: Premier Denis Napthine backs Victorian health ofcer's decision on warning
Morwell re: Vulnerable residents advised to leave as government ags inquiry
Hazelwood mine re has been declared ofcially safe

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, res, health, death, state-parliament, morwell-3840

First posted Fri 12 Sep 2014, 8:31pm