Monday, March 26

Coal seam gas health effects need more scrutiny

IMAGINE you are a farmer whose land has been in the family for generations. You’ve nurtured it through the tough times.

A coal seam gas (CSG) company informs you it will be coming onto your property to drill. You do not have the legal power to deny them access. Should they choose to, they can extract gas with wells that may leak, take out as much water as they like, add chemicals in the process that may have long-term health consequences and persist for decades, and scar the land.

You have to go to court to try to protect your water table and the viability of your land. Far-fetched? Actually, this resembles some real life situations.

CSG in Australia is a multi-billion dollar industry, with exploration and production licences covering large sections of Australia and now encroaching on urban settlements and prime agricultural areas. Industry and state governments have been assuring us this rapidly expanding technology is safe for people and the environment. But where is their evidence?

In the US, some observers have called the gas drilling boom “an uncontrolled health experiment on an enormous scale”.

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Medical Observer

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