Dioxin Update

[mrmoshe]

Results are in on testing of commercial fishermen on Sydney Harbour.

Here is the story from today's Sydney Morning Herald & Daily Telegraph.

Pete:

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(Telegraph)

Poisoned by our harbour

Exclusive By David Fisher and Simon Benson

July 20, 2006 12:00

BLOOD tests on Sydney Harbour commercial fishermen and their families have found that every one of them has dangerously high levels of dioxins in their bodies.

The test results, which will be released to the families today, show all 95 people tested have dioxin levels between twice and 10 times the Australian average.

Information obtained by The Daily Telegraph shows the dioxin levels are generally higher in the older people tested, although the figures are also alarming for the fishermen's children.

And the fact that every person tested positive could have serious ramifications for recreational anglers and consumers who have eaten significant quantities of seafood caught in the Harbour.

NSW Health officials admit, because so little is known about the dioxins, they can not say what the health consequences will be for the men, their wives and children.

However, the Government – which for four months labelled the tests unnecessary and refused to conduct them – is now promising special health assistance to the families.

When contacted by The Daily Telegraph last night, Health Minister John Hatzistergos said his department will introduce measures and assistance to the fishermen's GPs to ensure they are fully informed.

He said that when the fishermen and their families are given their results at Concord Hospital this morning, they also will receive written advice addressed to their GPs.

"We will also be convening a seminar to give the family GPs information on dioxins," Mr Hatzistergos said. "We will be establishing an on-going link to the Health Department where GPs can contact the experts and get advice.

"It has been decided that because family GPs know their patients' medical histories, it is better for them to monitor them, but we want to provide them with as much help as we can."

The blood tests were conducted about 10 weeks ago, although the families became concerned about their health in January, when commercial fishing was banned in Sydney Harbour after elevated levels of dioxins were discovered in prawns and bream.

Virtually all the fishermen, their wives and children have always eaten large amounts of their catch – meaning they have been exposed to higher levels of dioxins.

Dora Ianni, wife of fisherman Charlie Ianni, last night said she had put her life on hold waiting for the results.

"We've been waiting a long time and I am worried about the results, not just for me and my husband, but more importantly for the children," said Mrs Ianni, who has girls aged two and five.

"But we are also worried about what will happen next, what the Government will do to help us.

"We don't know whether we are going to be able to get health insurance and we don't know what it is going to mean for our health down the track."

It is understood that the levels of dioxins found in the tested families was similar to that of fishing communities elsewhere in the world, such as Finland and Canada.

Australia's average levels of dioxins are lower than other countries. Levels in some places are three times higher than here.

Fishing was banned in Homebush Bay in 1998 but in January this year the Government banned commercial fishing throughout the Harbour – and advised anglers to eat just 150g of fish a month – after elevated levels of dioxins were found in seafood.

Homebush Bay is the source of virtually all the dioxins found in fish caught elsewhere in the Harbour.

Dioxins bio-accumulate, so a fish that has never been in Homebush Bay can have elevated levels of dioxins because of the other marine life it has consumed.

Government documents, revealed to the Opposition under Freedom of Information, show there was no Cabinet approval of funding for the clean-up when it was announced in 1997.

Carl Scully, who was ports minister at the time, told Parliament that the Government was committed to the clean-up and it would pay $21 million towards it.

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(S.M.H.)

Harbour fishermen have 'dangerous dioxin levels'

Blood tests on Sydney Harbour commercial fishermen and their families show they have dangerously high levels of dioxins in their bodies.

The test results reveal all 95 people tested have dioxin levels between twice and 10 times the Australian average, a newspaper reports today.

The fact that every person tested positive could have serious ramifications for recreational anglers and consumers who have eaten significant quantities of seafood caught in the harbour.

The fishermen and their families underwent blood tests about 10 weeks ago, when commercial fishing was banned in Sydney Harbour because elevated levels of dioxins were found in seafood.

They will be given their test results at Concord Hospital this morning.

The NSW government has promised special health assistance to the families, after initially labelling the tests unnecessary and refusing to conduct them.

Health Minister John Hatzistergos said his department would introduce measures and assistance to the fishermen's GPs to ensure they are fully informed.

"We will also be convening a seminar to give the family GPs information on dioxins," Mr Hatzistergos told the newspaper.

"We will be establishing an on-going link to the Health Department where GPs can contact the experts and get advice."

NSW Health officials say the health consequences are unknown because so little is known about the dioxins.

Edited July 19, 2006 by MallacootaPete