OZschwitz Criminally negligent government forced into inquiry on radioactive site

RELATIVES of a couple who died of cancer after living near an unmarked radioactive waste dump at Hunters Hill have welcomed a parliamentary inquiry into the contamination scandal that has dogged state governments since the 1960s.

"I hope they uncover exactly the level of damage that has occurred in terms of people's health and lives," said Katie McGrath, whose mother and father died of cancer in their 30s after living at the family's home in Nelson Parade. "Obviously removing the waste is paramount but so is addressing the issue of the people who lost their lives as a result of this, including my parents."

A cluster of cancers developed around the uranium smelter site that operated until 1916 in Hunters Hill. The site was later cleaned up and developed for housing. NSW Department of Health documents recently revealed that state governments had known about problems at the site since the 1960s. At least five local residents are known to have died from cancer but their deaths have never been directly linked to the dump. The Health Department has repeatedly declared the site safe despite evidence of higher than average radiation levels around the area.

The controversy over the site reignited this year when the Government said it would spend $2 million to clean up several blocks in the street, including one that had been resumed in the 1970s. The Government plans to sell the sites for redevelopment. One of the previous owners died of leukaemia.

The NSW upper house inquiry was announced yesterday after the Coalition, the Greens and the Shooters Party united to force the Government into an agreement. The inquiry, to be chaired by Ian Cohen of the Greens, will look at the past attempts to decontaminate the site, what contamination still exists, and how to remove any radioactive material safely.

Ms McGrath was told of the inquiry by the Liberal MP Michael Richardson, who has repeatedly pressed the Government for answers about the contamination.

"The inquiry will determine the best thing to do with the waste," he said. "We can't leave this material where it is, but equally we can't just transfer the problem to another part of Sydney."

Ms McGrath says she is willing to appear as a witness at the inquiry but wants records from the Department of Health dealing with the Nelson Street residents to be made public at the hearings.

"I think there's a lot of stuff that will frighten a lot of people if it comes to light," she said.

LNK
_________________

Aquarchy Rules. Liquidate the Reds

ANCAPS Forum, Ancapolis, Aqua-Terra Atlantis Division.

The statists responsible should be microwaved!
_________________
"Taking money without permission is stealing unless you work for the IRS then it's taxation. Killing people en masse is homicidal mania unless you work for the Army then it's National Defense. Spying on your neighbors is invasion of privacy unless you work for the FBI then it's National Security. Running a whorehouse makes you a pimp & poisoning people makes you a murderer unless you work for the CIA then it's counter intelligence." R. Wilson. ANCAPS Forum Headquarters, Ancapolis