polluted water

This research is significant for Australians who, with government engineered population growth causing rising water costs, are attempting to recycle water in many ways. "Researchers have identified that the use of wastewater to irrigate vegetable crops, which is common across developing countries, may significantly contribute to deadly health risks such as rotavirus, a major cause of diarrhoeal diseases." (Report from Melbourne School of Land and Environment)

The research, published in the journal Risk Analysis today, which focused on the Beijing region, found that the risk posed to children eating vegetables grown with wastewater far exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) acceptable level.

Diarrhoeal disease is the second leading cause of death globally. More than 99 percent of deaths of diarrhoeal disease occur in developing countries and 90 percent of these are in children under five.

University of Melbourne researcher, Dr Andrew Hamilton from the Melbourne School of Land and Environment said,

“This research shows that the use of wastewater in irrigation is a global critical health issue for the Asia Pacific region and beyond.”

“There can be lots of microorganisms that cause disease in wastewater. They can be transferred from infected people, travel through the sewerage system, and then be eaten from the vegetables. This is a dangerous cycle.”

The research found that some vegetables posed greater risk than others. “This was due to leaf shape, which affects the amount of wastewater and contaminants that are retained. Choy sum poses the greatest risk, while bok choy poses the least risk,” said Dr Hamilton.

“There is more wastewater irrigation in China than in the rest of the world combined. Much of this is used growing vegetables.”

The report recommended that China develop its own guidelines for wastewater use.

Dr Hamilton explained that similar situations exist across Asia and other developing countries, and this is where the risk posed by diarrhoeal diseases is highest.

“Vaccination programs for rotavirus are being rolled out globally, but at this stage, they are far from reaching all children in developing countries.

“When vaccinations cannot be relied upon to stop the spread of rotavirus and other diarroeal diseases, research like this is very important to identify other contributing causes.”

Update, 24 Sep 2013 : The Sydney Morning Herald reports, "Mr Moylan was committed to the Supreme Court and will be appearing there on November 1."
See also: Hunter Valley food bowl plan faces urban development pressures of 1 Oct 2013, stopcsgsydney.org.au (last updated, 25 Aug); Stop CSG! Illawarra (last updated, 15 Sep). Paul Craig Roberts mentions the threat to underground water supplies as a result of fracking in the US in The Real Crisis Is Not The Government Shutdown of 2 Oct 2013.

In January this year, Jonathan Moylan sent a press release on ANZ letterhead to the ASX stating that the bank will withdraw financial support from Whitehaven’s Maules Creek open cut coal mine on ethical grounds. The case has now gone to the Supreme Court and Jonathan is facing up to 10 years jail and more than $700,000 in fines under s1041E of the Corporations Act. Jonathan's supporters feel that this is the exercise of might against right and point to ASIC's failure to prosecute big offenders in corporate crime. Anglophone law and industrial policy have a long history of persecuting democratic activism and have made it much harder for local people to organise against power than under the Roman Law (Napoleonic) system in continental Europe. This needs to change.

You can contribute to a fighting fund here: http://www.standwithjono.org/donate//www.standwithjono.org/donate

Context to ASIC prosecution of Jonathan Moylan

This case against Jonathan Moylan is the first time an individual has been prosecuted under s1041E of the Corporations Act.

ASIC is currently subject to a Senate Inquiry investigating its inaction in relation to prosecuting major corporate white-collar crime.

Last week, former Gunns chairman John Gay, who was prosecuted by ASIC for insider trading, received a $50,000 fine for an offence which carries a maximum penalty of $220,000 or 5 years’ jail. While ASIC praised the result, the Shareholders Association slammed the fine as “too lenient”, saying Gay “clearly profited at the expense of shareholders”, and that “where a director has pleaded guilty to insider trading we would have thought that there would have been the potential for a jail term...”.

Moylan acted on a matter of principle for no personal gain. The impact of Moylan’s action on shareholders has been exaggerated and should be seen in context. An investor who held $10,000 in Whitehaven shares and sold at the low point on the day of Moylan's action you would have lost $881 (shares fell from $3.52 to a low of $3.21 before recovering). Had the investor not acted and held their shares, at today's share price of $2.01 the investment would be worth just $5710.41, a drop of some 43%.

Cumulative Environmental Impacts

The mines will clear the largest remnant of bushland left on the Liverpool Plains, Leard State Forest, which is part of a national biodiversity hotspot.

The mines will impact on habitat for up to 396 plant and animal species and as many as 23 threatened species.

It is estimated that the mines will lead to a 5-7m drop in the water table and up to 18,000 tonnes of dust being dropped on surrounding farms each year.

Total greenhouse gas emissions from the coal produced will, when burnt, exceed 60 Mt/yr of CO2 equivalent - a total greenhouse impact greater than that of 165 individual nations, including Sweden, Hungary and Finland.

This is the context in which the Maules Ck coal mine was the subject of a media release by Jonathan Moylan which has now led to his prosecution by ASIC.

WASHINGTON (March 13) – Tens of millions of Americans drink water contaminated with chromium (VI), a compound the Environmental Protection Agency was poised in 2011 to conclude likely causes cancer.

That finding would have set the stage for stricter drinking-water standards. But industry-funded science has caused the process to stall.

Today, the Center for Public Integrity and the PBS NewsHour will tell the story behind the delay, focusing on Hinkley, California, where environmental activist Erin Brockovich made her name and residents are forced to drink bottled water because of chromium (VI) in their wells.

The EPA delayed its assessment of the compound to wait for new studies paid for by the American Chemistry Council, a trade group. The EPA planned to complete the assessment in 2015, but after the Center and PBS began asking questions about the delay, the agency posted a revised timetable showing that the effort would be finished this year.

The Center’s story can be found this morning The Center for Public Integrity's website. The NewsHour segment will air this evening (check local listings).

The Center for Public Integrity write, "This story is part of our ongoing investigation, ‘Toxic Clout’: More than 80,000 chemicals are on the market in the United States, with hundreds added each year. The Environmental Protection Agency and other regulators are supposed to protect the public from contaminants in air, water and consumer products that can cause cancer and other illnesses. But the chemical industry's sway over science and policy is powerful. Toxic Clout explores how the industry's actions create uncertainty and delay, threatening public health.

About the Center for Public Integrity: Founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis, the Center is one of the country's oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. Our mission: To enhance democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of trust by powerful public and private institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism."