Something in the Air - 4 corners Monday

frosty · Oct 1, 2005

maybe slightly OT :roll: but I think pollution is relavent to sustainability

I used to live down there and was the first secretary of the community group

the technology ALCOA use in WA is not used anywhere else in the world ..... the people of WA are being used as guinea pigs .......

but of course ALCOA will say everything is safe :roll:

Something in the Air
Reporter: Quentin McDermott

Broadcast: 03/10/2005

For more than a century the hamlet of Yarloop, in the south of Western Australia, has lived off the bounty of its soil. Its majestic jarrah forests made it one of the world’s great timber centres; its pastures nourish a thriving beef and dairy industry.

Now some people fear that the earth may hold the seeds of Yarloop’s demise. Under the ground in the nearby Darling Ranges sit vast deposits of bauxite which are dug up and fed into a huge refinery as part of the cycle to make aluminium.

This process, it is claimed, has been poisoning people in Yarloop.

"It’s like living in a toxic bubble," says one local. Some residents have complained of nosebleeds, sore eyes and throat, skin ulcers and rashes, lethargy and nausea. Others have had worse symptoms: impaired speech, blackouts and palpitations. They jab the finger of blame at the refinery that dominates Yarloop’s landscape and economy – and at the refinery’s owner, the Alcoa company.

Alcoa admits chemical fumes from its refinery used to be an irritant to local people’s health, but insists that problem was fixed by a refurbishment long ago.

The plant is safe, says Alcoa. Yarloop’s air is better than Perth’s, declares Alcoa’s Australian chief Wayne Osborn, who points to studies to back his case: "That refinery today would meet the most stringent world health standards for a new facility."

Alcoa has its backers in Yarloop but some people find it hard to believe what the company says. These include former Alcoa workers who have suffered permanent health damage and been forced into retirement. Alcoa gave them payouts but denies liability.

Other residents give recent accounts about being caught up in huge plumes of pollution coming from the refinery: "It felt like someone threw a match on me. My eyes were burning, my nose, the inside of my nose, my mouth, my throat."

Now Alcoa wants to double the output of its plant. It promises it can do so without increasing the impact of pollution. Opponents fear it will make more people sick and destroy the community.

The State Government will soon give its verdict on the expansion, weighing the personal experiences of residents against the scientific assurances of the company.

Quentin McDermott presents a parable for the industrial age: "Something in the Air" – Four Corners, 8.30pm Monday 3 October, ABC TV.

This program will be repeated about 11pm Wednesday 5 October; also on the ABC2 digital channel at 7pm and 9.15pm Wednesday.
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