Last night I watched Something in the Water Part 2 on ABC’s Australian Story and learnt of the efforts of a local GP in Tasmania’s North East seeking to explain unusual health problems in animals and humans. Interestingly the research found a most unexpected result:
NATURAL substances contained in the leaves of plantation trees growing upstream of St Helens may be poisoning the town’s drinking water.
On national TV last night, St Helens doctor Alison Bleaney said toxicity tests she had helped fund indicated river “scum” or foam from plantations in the Georges River catchment might be causing inexplicable cancer clusters and health problems.
More research is needed and I trust it will be speedily undertaken to clarify the issue and if necessary action taken promptly to address any health issues: be they for oysters, Tasmanian Devils or human beings.
See full report in today’s Mercury by Sue Neales, Tree farm cancer ‘link’.
