Coal-fired power stations linked to increased hospital admissions and death

The NSW Health Minister, Ryan Park has acknowledged that coal-fired power stations are linked to increased hospital admissions and death, according to a letter received by Future Sooner.

19 June 2024

 

IN a letter from the NSW Health Minister, Ryan Park, to a Future Sooner member, he states 'NSW Health acknowledges that air pollution, including from coal fired power stations, is associated with an increase in hospital admissions and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disease'.

 

“For decades people living on the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie have been bombarded with the pollution that comes from Eraring and Vales Point coal-fired power stations and their ash dams,” said Future Sooner spokesperson, Gary Blaschke OAM.

 

“What comes out of coal-fired power stations is toxic.

 

“Future Sooner knows it, we have the facts.

 

"The Cancer Council knows it. Doctors, clinicians, and health experts know it. ABS statistics, the government’s Coal Ash Inquiry and now the letter from the Health Minister proves it.

 

“The closer you live to a coal-fired power station and its ash dam, the more likely you are to have a chronic respiratory condition, asthma, even cancers and learning disabilities.

 

“I was told anecdotally that in one week eight children presented at Wyong hospital with various cancers.

 

“Wyong hospital is now getting a new cancer wing, for no other reason than there are so many cancer cases that local hospitals can’t cope. Budgewoi alone, has head and neck cancer at 102% above the national average.

 

“Health Minister Park has admitted coal-fired power stations like Eraring & Vales Point contribute to the suffering and even deaths of our residents and their children.

 

“Yet the NSW ALP government is extending the life of the Eraring coal-fired power plant and possibly the exemption licence of Vales Point so they can pump even more poison over the people on the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie.

 

“This is why Future Sooner is holding a Citizens Inquiry. This is why we need your stories about what is happening to you and your family’s health.

 

“Our government has just admitted that power stations are linked to deaths."

 

What is the problem with coal-fired power stations?

 

Burning coal s the most polluting way to produce electricity. When coal is dug up and later burned in power stations, it releases massive amounts of pollution, damaging our health and contributing to intensifying climate change.

 

Producing electricity from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity creates emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOX), particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), mercury (Hg) and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), and other pollutants.

 

People living in suburbs near coal-fired power plants have higher death rates and at earlier ages, along with increased risks of respiratory disease, lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and other health problems. Just living nearby can dramatically increase cancer risk from arsenic.

 

Ironically, to generate the same amount of electricity, a coal power plant gives off at least ten times more radiation than a nuclear power plant.

 

It is little wonder that people living in the suburbs north of Wyong have been plagued with serious and life-threatening diseases over many decades.

 

Gary Blaschke said, “If there was ever a time to make a stand to protect your family’s health it’s now. Be part of Future Sooner’s Citizens Inquiry. Make a submission and tell your story."

 

Contact: Gary Blaschke OAM, Future Sooner spokesperson on 0424 890 455 or email futuresoonernsw@gmail.com.

 

Citizens Inquiry: Sunday 25 August 2024, 1pm-5pm at Halekulani Bowling Club Budgewoi.