This is a transcription of the Public Health Information Bulletin, dated June 1998. A copy in pdf format is available here.
Why is arsenic not even mentioned by DNRE in the recent Costerfield Update? Arsenic is far more toxic than antimony and it has been advanced that some of the problems usually associated with antimony poisoning may in fact be explained by arsenic.
"Some soils in
Costerfield are likely to naturally contain raised levels of antimony."
Does this repeatedly qualified statement from the report below sound familiar? It should. It is the same excuse used in 2014 for the high levels of antimony in the area.
Does it reek of scientific uncertainty to you? It should... "some", "are likely", "raised"... these are all indications that something is very much less than certain... they are admissions of ignorance; otherwise why not tell us the facts?
Which soils, where and by how much? Farmers are pretty good at understanding information about their soils.
Do my or my neighbours' soils contain "raised levels of antimony"?
Has the Department of Health tested them?
What information - gleaned from sixteen years of study and more into the Costerfield situation - can the Department of Health provide regarding the particular soil on particular properties that enables it to dismiss out of hand the impact of the mine and place the onus squarely on historical mining activities for the elevated readings in Costerfield water tanks? Sixteen years later...
Has the World Health Organization 2004 recommendation that, when arsenic and antimony are found in the same geology, examinations of synergistic and additive affects be conducted, been followed by the Department of Health?
It certainly would not appear so. Who among the Costerfield community have the Department of Health contacted regarding these examinations for the purpose of taking of further samples?
Remember, the Bulletin below is from all the way back in 1998... they've had
over sixteen years to prepare for and deal with this "health issue".
How much more do the people of Costerfield know, sixteen years later?
***
June 1998
Public Health
Information Bulletin for the residents of Costerfield
This bulletin provides information on:
- ·
the results of investigations of antimony and
arsenic levels in Costerfield
- ·
possible health risks associated with exposure
to these substances.
- ·
actions that are being taken.
- ·
steps that can be taken to reduce exposure to
you or your family and reduce any health risk.
Background
Over the past few years a number of concerns have been
raised by the community in relation to proposed mining activities in
Costerfield. One of these concerns was the possibility of wind blown dust contaminating
rain water tanks. Other concerns have been raised in relation to possible
health effects from tailings material left behind from mining going back to the
1860s.
Gold and antimony have been mined sporadically at
Costerfield since the 1860s. Antimony is a substance that can be found
naturally in gold deposits in certain geographical areas. Some soils in
Costerfield are likely to naturally contain raised levels of antimony.
Arsenic is a substance that is also found naturally in rock,
often near gold deposits. It is commonly found in mine tailings and mullock.
Tailings are crushed rock that is left after gold is extracted while mullock is
the coarse rock that is left behind after the gold is dug up. Arsenic is more
widely spread than antimony and is found in mine tailings and mullock spread
over large areas of central Victoria.
Result of
Investigations
For several months, rainwater tanks at homes in Costerfield
have been tested for any signs of arsenic contamination. Over the past month,
water in these tanks and some soils (and mullock) in the area have also been
checked for arsenic and antimony.
Water samples
Arsenic: Most
water samples have shown levels of arsenic that were well below the current
drinking water guideline of 7 parts per billion. As a few water samples tested
by private consultants were above this value, the Department of Human Services
(DHS) performed additional sampling to check these results. All samples checked
by DHS for arsenic were well below the current guideline.
Antimony: Rain
water samples from household tanks detected antimony levels between 2 and 15
parts per billion. These levels are slightly above the Australian Drinking
Water Guideline for antimony of 3 parts per billion. However, only some were
above the comparable guideline set by the World Health Organisation and the
standard set by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Soil samples
There has been some very limited recent testing of soil and
mullock in Costerfield for arsenic and antimony. [Compare this with the Ministers 1998 Letter from just three months later where it is declared that "prudent" etc etc]
Arsenic: This
testing found arsenic levels between 350 and 750 parts per million parts of
soil.
Antimony: Levels
of antimony were between 1000 and 28000 parts per million.
From tests that have been taken in the past, we know that
levels of arsenic and antimony in surface soils and tailings around Costerfield
may be higher in some areas.
[Can we see the results of these tests?]
Are these levels
of arsenic a risk to health?
Arsenic has been shown to be associated with health effects
in people who have taken high or moderate amounts and the health effects are
related to the amount of arsenic that people breathe or swallow.
Based on the results that we have, DHS considers that:
- ·
the level of arsenic in water is not a risk to
health
- ·
the concentrations of arsenic in soil would
generally be a very low risk to adults but may be a greater risk to children if
they eat or play in soil with high levels of arsenic.
A pamphlet, Arsenic
And Health: Are You Living In An Area With Mine Tailings?, is attached.,
This pamphlet discusses arsenic in mine tailings and ways of reducing exposure
and any health risk.
Taking these steps will also reduce any health risk from
arsenic in soil or dust that contain high levels of arsenic.
Are these levels
of antimony a risk to health?
There is very little information on the health effects of
antimony, apart from health effects of people breathing in high doses of
antimony at work. Nearly all of the other information we have is from studies
in animals. We have attached an information sheet that discusses what is known
about exposure to antimony and health effects.
Based on studies in rats, a ‘safe level’ of antimony has
been calculated. This is a level that could be taken into the body every day
for long periods of time without causing health effects. Many safety factors
are used to set this level. The ‘safe level’ has been used to set a guideline
value for water, with even more safety factors.
Levels in water:
Levels of antimony found in rain water tanks in homes in
Costerfield are only slightly above the guideline for water. DHS believes that
the levels in drinking water may be a very low risk for adults, if any. However
these levels may be a greater risk for children, especially if they swallow
dust or soil that contains high levels of antimony.
·
Based on current information, DHS recommends
that adults in Costerfield should not drink water with antimony exceeding the
current Australian Drinking Water Guideline of 3 parts per billion. Young
children in Costerfield should not drink water containing detectable levels of
antimony.
·
However , DHS considers that the levels of
antimony that have been found in drinking water are generally not a risk for
cleaning teeth, washing dishes, showering, bathing, washing clothes, watering
vegetables or other domestic purposes.
As levels of antimony in surface waters in creeks and dams
may be much higher, it may not be suitable to use these waters for the domestic
purposes that are mentioned above.
Levels in soil:
Based on the limited information available, it is considered
that levels of antimony in the soil in some areas of Costerfield may be
a health risk, especially for children who swallow larger amounts of soil than
adults do. However, there are a number of uncertainties. There is little
information on the levels of antimony (and arsenic) in soils on private
properties in Costerfield. It is not known how easily antimony is absorbed by
the human body and whether it causes health effects in people when swallowed in
small amounts over long periods of time.
·
The attached leaflet, Antimony and Health, discusses ways of reducing exposure to
antimony in soil, and therefore, reducing any health risk.
Levels in dust:
People can absorb substances from dust by breathing dust in
or swallowing dust on their hands or their food. It is not known how much
antimony or arsenic is in dust in Costerfield but it is likely to be related to
the amounts of antimony in soil in the area. As children often put their
fingers and hands in their mouths, they are likely to swallow more dust than
adults do.
·
See attached leaflet on antimony for measure to
reduce exposure from soil and dust.
What actions can I
take to reduce the health risk?
The attached pamphlet, Arsenic
And Health: Are You Living In An Area With Mine Tailings and the leaflet Antimony and Health: Public health
information sheet for residents of Costerfield, discuss ways of reducing
exposure to antimony and arsenic in soil and dust and reducing any health risk.
What actions are
being taken by others?
The Department of Human Services (DHS), the City of Greater
Bendigo Council, the Department of natural Resources and Environment (DNRE),
and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will work with Australian Gold
Development to develop a strategy for supplying water to residents in the
Costerfield area who are at risk of having raised levels of antimony in their rain
water supplies, from dust emissions in the area.
In the meantime (as an interim measure) Australian Gold
Development has offered to provide bottled water for cooking and drinking to
those Costerfield residents where testing has shown that water quality does not
meet current Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. The company will also supply
water to other concerned residents, close to the Costerfield area, especially
those with children, until it is determined which residential properties are or
could be affected.
The company has taken this action to assist in the
management of any possible health effects from local drinking water. The
company will notify people of this by letter.
Dust
DNRE are undertaking a comprehensive review of dust suppression
measures to be implemented in any mining development to make sure that current
problems are not made worse.
DNRE are also looking at any possible sources of current
dust (for example tailings dumps, [link to McLennan Letter - so the locals do know what's going on, eh?] construction activities) to see if any
further measures can be taken to minimise the amount of dust in the area.
Soil
DNRE is currently getting information on all soil sampling
that has been undertaken in the Costerfield township area to determine the
levels of antimony that are present in these soils. After this is done further
sampling may be needed to estimate the exposure of residents to antimony.
[Can we see the reports?]
***
