The mining and burning of coal: effects on health and the environment

Castleden, William M; Shearman, David; Crisp, George; Finch, Philip

doi:10.5694/mja11.10169

Topics

Australia’s coal conundrum is that all political parties say they are concerned about climate change while sanctioning an unprecedented expansion of coalmining and coal seam gas extraction in Australia.

1 Department of Vascular Surgery, Fremantle Hospital, Fremantle, WA.
2 Department of Medicine, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA.
3 Doctors for the Environment Australia, Adelaide, SA.
4 Perth Pain Management Centre, Perth, WA.
5 Murdoch University, Perth, WA.

Correspondence: wmc@iinet.net.au

Competing interests:

David Shearman is Honorary Secretary of Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA). Philip Finch, George Crisp and William Castleden are members of DEA.

1. Hendryx M, Ahern MM. Relations between health indicators and residential proximity to coal mining in West Virginia. Am J Public Health 2008; 98: 669-671.
2. Hendryx M. Mortality from heart, respiratory, and kidney disease in coal mining areas of Appalachia. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2009; 82: 243-249.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Directory of mining statistics, 2002. Canberra: ABS, 2002: 49-63. (ABS Cat. No. 1144.0.) http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/9AD51E2188924080CA256C8B0082DFD7/File/11440_2002.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
4. Gunningham N. Mine safety: law, regulation and policy. Canberra: Federation Press, 2006; chapter 1. http://www.anu.edu.au/fellows/ngunningham/_docs/Mine_Safety_Chapter_One.pdf (accessed June 2011).
5. Lockwood AH, Welker-Hood K, Rauch M, Gottlieb B. Coal’s assault on human health: a report from Physicians for Social Responsibility. Washington DC: PSR, 2009. http://www.psr.org/assets/pdfs/psr-coal-fullreport.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
6. Smith DR, Leggat PA. 24 years of pneumoconiosis mortality surveillance in Australia. J Occup Health 2006; 48: 309-313.
7. Kizil GV, Donoghue AM. Coal dust in the longwall mines of New South Wales: a respiratory risk assessment. Occup Med (Lond) 2002; 52: 137-149.
8. Epstein PR, Reinhart N. Testimony for the Kentucky General Assembly, House of Representatives Committee on Health and Welfare. London, Ky: Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, 2010. http://www.kftc.org/blog/linked-documents/documents/Epstein%20Testimony.doc (accessed Jun 2011).
9. Smail S. Toxic chemicals found in coal gas projects in Queensland. AM [radio program]. Brisbane: ABC, 2010. http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2010/s3043048.htm (accessed Jun 2011).
10. Fraser A. Contamination fear fails to stop project. The Australian 2010; 10 Nov. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/contamination-fear-fails-to-stop-project/story-fn59niix-1225950389968 (accessed Aug 2011).
11. Higginbotham N, Freeman S, Connor L, Albrecht G. Environmental injustice and air pollution in coal affected communities, Hunter Valley Australia. Health Place 2010; 16: 259-266.
12. Fowler A. A dirty business. Four Corners [television program]. Sydney: ABC, 2010. http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2010/s2870687.htm (accessed Jun 2011).
13. Connor L, Albrecht G, Higginbotham N, et al. Environmental change and human health in Upper Hunter communities of New South Wales, Australia. EcoHealth 2004; 1 (2 Suppl): 47-58.
14. Kjellstrom TE, Neller A, Simpson RW. Air pollution and its health impacts: the changing panorama. Med J Aust 2002; 177: 604-608. <MJA full text>
15. Australian Air Quality Group. Particles. AAQG: Armidale, 25 Apr 2010. http://aaqg.3sc.net/air-pollution-and-health/particles (accessed Aug 2011).
16. Judek S, Jessiman B, Stieb D, Vet R. Estimated number of excess deaths in Canada due to air pollution. Vancouver: Metro Vancouver, 2004. http://www.metrovancouver.org/about/publications/Publications/AirPollutionDeaths.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
17. Last J, Trouton K, Pengelly G. Taking our breath away: the health effects of air pollution and climate change. Vancouver: David Suzuki Foundation, 1998. http://www.davidsuzuki.org/publications/downloads/1998/healthFULL_eng.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
18. Grant WB. Air pollution in relation to US cancer mortality rates: an ecological study; likely role of carbonaceous aerosols and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Anticancer Res 2009; 29: 3537-3545.
19. Pirrone N, Mason R. Mercury fate and transport in the global atmosphere: emissions, measurements and models. Dordrecht: Springer, 2009.
20. Voigt T, Bailey M, Abrahamson M. Air pollution in the Latrobe Valley and its impact upon respiratory morbidity. Aust N Z J Public Health 1998; 22: 556-561.
21. Halliday JA, Henry RL, Hankin RG, Hensley MJ. Increased wheeze but not bronchial hyper-reactivity near power stations. J Epidemiol Community Health 1993; 47: 282-286.
22. McMichael AJ, Neira M, Bertollini R, et al. Climate change: a time of need and opportunity for the health sector. Lancet 2009; 374: 2123-2125.
23. McMichael AJ, Butler CD. Climate change and human health: recognising the really inconvenient truth. Med J Aust 2009; 191: 595-596. <MJA full text>
24. Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. The hidden costs of electricity: externalities of power generation in Australia. Melbourne: ATSE, 2009. http://www.apo.org.au/sites/default/files/ATSE_Report_Hidden_Costs_Electricity_2009.pdf (accessed Jun 2011).
25. Epstein PR, Buonocore JJ, Eckerle K, et al. Full cost accounting for the life cycle of coal. Ann NY Acad Sci 2011; 1219: 73-98.
26. United Nations Development Programme. International human development indicators: Human Development Index (HDI) — 2010 rankings. New York: United Nations, 2010. http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ (accessed Jun 2011).

Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.