Pets are dying unnecessarily from cancer
At the recent Citizens Inquiry held by Future Sooner, residents told the panel that not only were they getting sick, but their pets were dying from cancers that not even the vets understood.
2 October 2024
THE recent Citizens Inquiry into the impacts of airborne coal dust and coal ash dumps upon human health revealed that the first time residents of the Central Coast and at Lake Macquarie, who were given a platform to tell their stories of how their health had been affected, said they believed their pets were being affected from the coal-fired power stations close by.
Future Sooner spokesperson, Gary Blaschke OAM said, “The stories we heard were harrowing. We were told by a resident how his grandmother moved to the Central Coast and after living here for a while, developed cancer.”
“His dad moved up to nurse her and he was suddenly diagnosed with cancer. He moved up to nurse his dad and he now has cancer. Then his dogs were diagnosed with cancer and the vet was at a loss to offer any explanation,” he said.
“All the dogs died. None of them were from the same litter or the same breed. They just lived in the same place – in the shadow of a coal-fired power station.
“Another resident told how her family moved to the Central Coast, had a healthy diet, ran marathons, cycled, surfed, then her husband was diagnosed with brain tumours and she with a rare bladder cancer. Her husband died in April this year.
“There are many more stories like this. Some spoke of chronic respiratory illnesses. The Inquiry was told that 1,142 children between 0-15 years presented at hospital with acute asthma between 2019-2020. That number would only be growing.
“The panel heard of grey swirling dust from coal ash dams and sudden breathing problems. Residents said that ‘even our doctors have advised that what comes out of the power stations is dangerous to people's health.”
All the stories the panel heard and those from the many submissions, reinforced the evidence that Future Sooner had collected.
“We have presented our evidence to NSW Health, Government MPs, the UN and the EPA. Evidence from the Government’s own data. Evidence that the Government has done nothing about, “ Mr Blaschke said.
“The Citizens Inquiry will produce an Interim Report outlining some of its findings. The big question is, will the Government take action this time?
“In his Final Report as Chair of the Coal Ash Inquiry, Daniel Mookhey said that the then NSW Government had acted with complete disregard for the health of its citizens. Now he is the NSW Treasurer, what regard does he have for our health?”