HEALTH AND SOCIAL HARMS OF COAL MINING IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES

Coal dust causes serious health problems in communities located near open cut coal mines. That same dust pollutes rain water supplies causing yet more health problems. And then there is the impact of mining on people's mental health.

There have been many studies worldwide which have made many more alarming health 'discoveries' but no comparable comprehensive medical research has been undertaken or published here in Australia, which is a gross oversight considering we are the world's largest exporter of coal.

But now we have a report compiled by the Health and Sustainability Unit at Sydney University, commissioned by the melbourne-based Beyond Zero Emissions group. BZE is an independent, not-for-profit, volunteer-run organisation looking at ways in which Australia can kick the carbon habit and go coal turkey.

The purpose of the report is to provide an objective overview of the available international and local evidence from the health and medical literature about the health effects and social justice impacts of coal mining on local communities and to discuss and relate these issues to the Hunter Region of New South Wales. It provides a stark warning for our own community in the push to transition it from a farming-based economy to one centered on coal mining.



Here is a link to the report:

http://media.beyondzeroemissions.org/coal_health_Report_FINAL.pdf