By Sarah Farnsworth, Madeleine Morris, Rhiana Whitson
There is a high probability that 11 deaths after the Hazelwood coal mine fire were caused by air pollution, a leading expert says.
Adrian Barnett, from the Queensland University of Technology, analysed official Births, Deaths and Marriages data, which was obtained by 7:30 and was not seen by the Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry.
The fire burned for 45 days, near Morwell in Melbourne’s south-east in February, putting thick, acrid smoke over the nearby town.
In the first week of the fire, about 20 firefighters were treated for carbon monoxide poisoning, while vulnerable residents were advised to leave weeks later.
Associate Professor Barnett looked at the monthly number of deaths from four postcode areas in and around Morwell from 2009 to 2014.
Based on an analysis of figures, he said there was a high probability there had been 11 premature deaths in the Latrobe Valley that could be attributed to the mine fire.
“There are hundreds of other studies showing that when exposed to air pollution the risk of death increases,” he said.
He said his analysis took into account the high temperatures around the same time.
“There is very strong evidence that heat also kills people so I was able to adjust for monthly temperature,” he said.
“The probability of an increase risk of death came down to 81 per cent and an 11 per cent risk – so it’s a small reduction.”
He said the number of deaths warranted an investigation.
Morwell woman says partner’s death was due to air pollution
Kiery-Anne Clissold said her partner Harry McCormack, who died of an aneurism on Saturday, was a light smoker, but otherwise healthy.
“He never suffered from a headache in his life – he was fit as a mountain bull,” Ms Clissold said.
Ms Clissold said she believed his death was linked to the unsafe levels of air pollution that Morwell residents were exposed to during the mine fire.
“The only time in our whole near 30 years together when he suffered any headache – to the point of vomiting – was during that time of that horrible, horrible smoke that we had to come back to,” she said.
“When it did affect him he had massive headaches and was vomiting.”
She said she and her partner were forced to flee the town, because of his headaches.
“When it hit him he couldn’t get out of the house quick enough – we got so ill we had to flee and we fled three times,” she added.
Ms McCormack said her doctor told her that aneurisms were not common, and she has asked the coroner to investigate.
“I really want an answer, I have to find out why he was snatched like that because it does not make sense,” she said.
Victorian coroner Ian Gray said that he would consider the request.
“Now that the inquiry has finished and the report has been released, I will be considering the request for a coronial investigation,” Coroner Gray said in a statement.
Voices for the Valley investigated deaths
Local group Voices of the Valley, which formed during the fire, obtained the figures from Births, Deaths and Marriages after noticing an increase in death notices in the local paper.
Wendy Farmer, a member of the group, said concerns were initially raised when animals started to die.
“We noticed that quite a few people were dying and we started taking note of what the death notices were saying,” Ms Farmer said.
“Instead of saying ‘after a long illness’, quite a few were saying ‘suddenly’, so we became concerned,” she said.
“They were 50 [years old and] upwards – there were some quite old but there were some that were 50, 55 which seemed to early to have died suddenly.”
Another member of the group, Ron Ipsen, said before they received the official data, they drew up their own research on local deaths to present to the Hazelwood inquiry.
“We were told that people weren’t going to die and we kind of believed that sort of – then we started to look at what was actually happening,” Mr Ipsen said.
Mr Ipsen said the group was unable to gain access to official data from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in time to present to the inquiry.
But Voices for the Valley were able to share their own anecdotal evidence with the inquiry.
Inquiry responds to groups Hazelwood concerns
Voices of the Valley’s anecdotal research was enough to elicit a response from the inquiry.
In an email to the group, the inquiry’s principal legal advisor said the figures would be passed on to the relevant authorities.
“The board notes that the matters raised in your letter are of concern and for that reason, will pass the information on to the Department of Health and Victorian Coroner,” the email stated.
The Department of Health said it had received the Voices of the Valley’s figures and they were being analysed.
But in a statement, it also said its own investigations into official birth deaths and marriages figures showed there was no increase in deaths during the time of the fire.
“We have also received official data from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages on deaths in Morwell, Churchill, Moe and Traralgon from January to June in the years 2009 to 2014 inclusive.
The data shows no increase in deaths in Morwell during the period of the Hazelwood open cut coal mine fire compared with the same period in previous years.”
However, the Department’s official figures also did not reach the Hazelwood mine fire inquiry, so they have not yet been scrutinised.
Government denies link between fire and deaths
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said he could rule out that people had died because of air pollution in the area.
“There have not been deaths and no indications of such,” Mr Ryan said.
“But by the same token we are concerned, of course, to undertake the health studies the inquiry has recommended and we will do that.”
Following five months of investigation, the Hazelwood inquiry did find the smoke and ash clouds had what it called “distressing” health impacts.
Head of the inquiry, Justice Bernard Teague, also acknowledged that the advice to relocate given by the Chief Health Officer Rosemary Lester came too late.
“As it turned out the best time to make sure that people were not exposed to those… ashens and fumes, was in the first couple of weeks,” Justice Teague said.
Of particular concern to residents is what any exposure to small particles known as PM 2.5 would have in years to come on a town with one of the poorest health records in the state.
The fire inquiry was told people with pre-existing heart and lung conditions were at risk from acerbated problems, and hospital admissions and death could increase.
Ron Ipsen said the community was concerned about those health affects into the future.
“We don’t know how many years it’s taken off our life. We do know that those that were a little bit sick, anything they were sick with was accelerated,” he said.
“Our sick die early and our young are getting sick when they shouldn’t.
“There are things that are totally not right.”