In The Age today, 122 doctors raised the alarm over potential health dangers of the planned quarry on Arthurs Seat. Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, with a primary school, kindergarten and childcare centre nearby.
To back doctors in, we need thousands of us clicking here to join their open letter to political leaders today.
The Ross Trust is seeking government approval for a new granite quarry on Arthurs Seat. Thousands of local children would grow up near the quarry, with a local primary school and an early learning centre less than a kilometre away.
According to a heavily researched health letter from doctors appearing in The Age today, the quarry poses numerous potential health risks.
Silica dust has been linked to cancer and lung disease in occupational settings. In addition to silica, other types of fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5, will result from quarrying. PM2.5 are small enough to be inhaled and reach the lower airways deep in the lungs. From here PM2.5 enter the blood stream and can cause inflammation and irreparable damage in many organs. This fine particulate matter can also travel tens of kilometres downwind.
Children and infants are particularly vulnerable, with a paediatric allergist likening this quarry going ahead to “playing Russian Roulette” with children’s health. Pregnant women, the elderly and people with heart and lung disease are also at higher risk.
122 doctors raised the health alarm in their open letter today. In the next few days The Ross Trust and our political leaders will be gauging how much people are listening to this warning. That’s why it’s critical for thousands of us to join the open health letter immediately.
It’s all backwards. The Ross Trust is a registered charity with a stated mission to “create positive social and environmental change”. Instead, they’re proposing to bulldoze, blast and mine between two sections of Arthurs Seat State Park.
This would destroy up to 94 acres of our last remaining remnant bushland, create a 190-metre-deep pit and sever a critical biolink for koalas and other native animals.
Now a group of respected doctors has exposed the unacceptable potential health risks of the quarry, especially to children and other vulnerable groups.
More than 80,000 of us have joined the campaign to put a stop to this quarry. The most impactful thing we can do today is to support the doctors who are speaking out to protect the health of children and the local community.