A Muswellbrook councillor has called for coal mining in the shire to be capped, on the back of a medical study that links mining to a raft of health and environmental problems.
Cr Christine Phelps said she was not surprised by the report – published in the Medical Journal of Australia this week – which found that the mining and burning of coal changed the lifestyle and character of a community.
“I’m disappointed that the community has been convinced in their own minds for so long [about the effects of mining] and yet it has taken so long for this to come out,” she said.
The report said medical practitioners in coal mining areas had reported that increases in asthma, stress and mental ill health had become more common.
“As more coalmines are opened, as has occurred in parts of the Hunter Valley in NSW, the social fabric of a region changes, the role and function of a township alters, and many inhabitants of these regions have developed depression, anxiety and ill health,” the study said.
Cr Phelps said it was her opinion that Australia was not doing enough to address the effects of mining on communities and the environment.
“There is nothing temporary about coal mining,” she said.
“It changes the fabric of the community and the land and it never completely goes back to how it was.
“Mining in the Hunter Valley needs to be capped as it is now, in my opinion.
“I don’t think the Hunter Valley or the community can take any more disturbance.
“We need to cap it and focus on the mines we already have and if one shuts it needs to be completely rehabilitated before we open up any more land for mining.”
The authors of the study, William Castleden, David Shearman, George Crisp and Philip Finch are from Western Australia’s Fremantle Hospital, the University of Adelaide, Doctors for the Environment South Australia, Perth Pain Management Centre and Murdoch University Perth.
The study said concerns about mining expansion were growing and questions were being asked of health experts.
Although no Australian overview of the health effects of mining had been done, the authors said there was evidence from the United States that coal mining communities were at increased risk of a range of illnesses, including heart and lung diseases and high blood pressure.
It also found that burning coal emits pollutants harmful to human health.
An Australian review of air pollution found some of the effects of coal combustion could include coughing, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis and decreased lung function.
“The limited evidence on the impacts of air pollution from burning coal in Australia suggests that the health impacts are similar to those reported from other developed countries,” the report said.
“A 1993 study reported an increase in symptoms of childhood wheeze and asthma-like breathing difficulties from a community near a coal-fired power station.”
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