SUBMISSIONS FOR NEWMAN DUST INVESTIGATION CLOSE ON FRIDAY
Submissions to the Department of Environment & Water (DWER) for their investigation into dust affecting Newman close on Friday, August 6th.
Newman local John Wilmot told Ngaarda Media, "the people need to know what we're breathing".
Investigations by Ngaarda Media have found the Shire President of East Pilbara, Anthony Middleton wasn’t aware of the rapidly approaching deadline when asked on the Ngaarda Breakfast show, despite the Shire have previously worked with the State Government on combatting the dust issue.
John Wilmot revealed he was making his own submission to the investigation, which can only appear to be emailed to DWER.
What are the effects of breathing in the dust?
In his 50’s Wilmot has respiratory issues, even though he has not smoked since he was in his 20’s.
He currently lives within a 15-minute driving distance to over 6 mines and says the DWER report released December last year offers no clear picture about the effects of the dust in.
“Why are we not getting the right data? Why are we not measuring for 2.5?” said Wilmot.
According to Occupational Health Services Australia (OHSA), breathing in dust is harmful, especially affecting asthmatics or allergy sufferers. Dust particles of size ranging from 0.001 to 0.1 mm pose a risk while airborne and can result in lung damage when a person is exposed over a long period of time.
Healthy WA says dust that is around PM2.5 can have long-term consequences on health, especially those who experience respiratory illness.
Port Hedland buy-back scheme telling people to get out of town at a loss
Port Hedland residents have been experiencing the consequences of dust pollution in the Pilbara region.
The government and has launched a voluntary buyback scheme available to over 400 homeowners in the West End of Port Hedland, after zoning changes caused housing in the area to become “non-conforming”.
Greg Whiteman is a resident of Port Hedland’s West End and has noticed the dust affecting his property, with more than a million tonnes of iron ore is shipped through the port daily close to the West End.
“We approached the major miner in town who we believe was principally responsible for our predicament and asked for a maintenance and cleaning contribution… The dust task force came out after this which led to the zoning changes in the Port Hedland” Whiteman said.
A valuation report was done on the value of the properties in the West End, but the results of the report were not available to residents and there was a lack of transparency around how the buyback scheme price was reached.
“The government is trying to tell people to get out of town with a loss”.
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