GP’s gas study raises industry hackles

4 minute read

Research Respiratory

By

Julie Lambert

A Brisbane GP has come under attack after drawing a link between rising hospital admissions for respiratory and circulatory disease and the escalation of CSG mining

A Brisbane GP has come under attack after drawing a link between rising hospital admissions for acute respiratory and circulatory disease and the escalation of coal-seam gas (CSG) mining in Queensland’s Darling Downs.

Dr Geralyn McCarron used statistics from the Darling Downs Health and Hospital Service (DDHS) and CSG emissions data from the National Pollutants Inventory (NPI) in her study, published last week in the International Journal of Environmental Studies.

The results raised a “red flag” about the health impacts of the CSG industry and warranted a comprehensive investigation, she said.

“The unchecked expansion of unconventional gas companies into what was previously an agrarian area of the Darling Downs has led to the generation of extra emissions attributable to a single industry,” Dr McCarron wrote in her paper.

DDHS figures showed that acute circulatory admissions had more than doubled between 2007 and 2014, rising 133%, while acute respiratory admissions grew 142%.

The growth came against the backdrop of a massive increase in air-borne pollutants from CSG emissions in the region, seen in the NPI data.

The data listed nitrogen oxides (up 489% to 10,048 tonnes), carbon monoxide (800% to 6800 tonnes), small particulate matter (6000% to 1926 tonnes), volatile organic compounds  (337% to 670 tonnes), and formaldehyde (from 12kg to over 160 tonnes).

The Murrumba Downs GP told The Medical Republic her research focus was prompted by anecdotal reports of health problems in communities around the gas-rich Surat basin and a lack of substantive research into these concerns in Australia.

Responding swiftly to news reports of the findings, the oil and gas lobby labelled Dr McCarron as an “anti-industry” activist rather than an impartial scientist.

“An article claiming that an increase in hospital visits is linked to natural gas development is completely at odds with countless research studies carried out both in Australia and overseas,” the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) said.

“The article by Geralyn McCarron – who is known for her alignment with activist group Lock the Gate – fails the credibility test,” it said in a statement that omitted Dr McCarron’s title and qualifications and referred to her study as “pseudoscience”.

“Geralyn McCarron has long been associated with Lock the Gate and is well known for regularly churning out pseudo-science supporting their political agenda,” APPEA Queensland Director Rhys Turner said.

“The article fails to produce any credible evidence for her claims. McCarron is trying to frighten people and pressure governments to waste health research dollars on her political agenda.”

As noted by the APPEA, Dr McCarron’s paper acknowledged the limitations of the research, as demographic data for age, gender, population movements, prior health conditions and habits were not available.

In an interview with TMR, Dr McCarron said the APPEA’s claim that research in Australia and overseas had countered health concerns over CSG was untrue.

Overseas studies were consistent with her hypothesis about a link between health impacts and CSG, whereas in Australia there had been very little research at all.

“There has been a remarkable lack of substantive investigation,” she said.

One exception was a review of hospital data in three Queensland areas up to 2011, showing a faster rise in hospital admissions for neoplasms and blood/immune diseases in CSG areas compared with other areas.

“Until there is a sufficiently large and well-resourced study to support or refute (the proposed link), I stand by it, and I stand by the people of the Darling Downs who value their health and well-being,” Dr McCarron said.

In her paper’s conclusion, Dr McCarron said the Darling Downs acute hospital admission data was significant, even  if the full range of underlying factors was unclear.

“It is urgent that there should be a comprehensive investigation,” she said.

Published research on CSG industry emissions and resultant adverse health impacts had supported decisions by France, Ireland, Bulgaria and New York State to ban unconventional gas development, she said.

In Australia, Victoria has banned the practice of fracking and put a moratorium on onshore exploration until 2020. NSW has stopped CSG activity within 2km of residential areas, and restrictions are in place in Tasmania and Western Australia.

READ the journal article http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00207233.2017.1413221

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Bengt Paven
Bengt Paven
6 years ago

Something about doctors and pump handles being disconnected.

0
Philip Clarke
Philip Clarke
Reply to  Bengt Paven
6 years ago

I think Ben was saying – look at Dr John Snow in Soho, London and the outbreak of Cholera.

1
Lou Lewis
Lou Lewis
6 years ago

Having just read the above article entitled “ GP’s gas study raises industry hackles” (TMR 18 January 2018) regarding findings of a GP suggesting a causative link between CSG emissions and increased incidences of hospital admissions for respiratory related disorders, and the industry’s response to the GPs findings, I see a great similarity between this article and the movie Concussion, which dealt with a doctor’s findings of a possibility of early dementia in gridiron players and repeated head trauma, and at first the Establishment poo-pooed his suggestions but as time went on and more data became available no one could deny the link between head trauma and early dementia in the NFL ( National Football League), and it culminated in a multibillion lawsuit that found that the doctor’s initial concerns were proven correct. ( Also a bit like tobacco companies denying a link between smoking and lung cancer).
Personally I do not know Dr Geralyn McCarron nor had I heard of the Lock the Gate Association, but already I can see how the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) is starting its campaign to discredit Dr McCarron by referring to her as an activist and an anti-industry person and I expect that sooner rather than later we will see the release of ‘independent’ APPEA studies showing that their studies do not show any untoward effects of these gasses, just like the tobacco industry suggesting that all the toxins in cigarettes were ‘harmless’ to the lungs.
Rather than criticising or, even worse, ignoring Dr McCarron’s, the medical community should get right behind Dr McCarron and look for similar patterns in other rural areas, where a new industry that releases toxins to the air has been associated with increased respiratory ( or other ,for example, Skin or neurological) presentations to emergency departments that are of an abnormally high figure when compared to areas where there are no new industries.
I have read Dr McCarron’s research paper and, to a non-researcher like myself, it looks very well sourced and presented in an unbiased form where even the author states that there are limitations of the research, as demographic data for age, gender, population movements, prior health conditions and habits, but in my opinion this is the tip of the iceberg and Dr McCarron will be hailed as a pioneer for improving the health of people affected by big business who put profit ahead of people.
If the APPEA is labelling her an activist then they must also include thousands of doctors like myself who also share the same view and concerns as her but do not have the expertise to write a research paper.
Cheers
Lou

8
Ani Hart
Ani Hart
6 years ago

This woman has done her studies/work on what she is seeing as a Doctor – and trying to get to the bottom of why it is happening. Regardless of her aliance to whatever political or social party – her findings and discussions are not to be discarded. She has taken the Hippocratic oath of her profession and as such her comments and findings need to be treated with the respect they deserve – not derided by a bunch of ‘know alls’ just because her findings do not fall in line with their wishes. Her findings are relevant to the ongoing welfare of the people she sees and it just so happens they are living in a CSG area. That is the known problem for the helath of all people living in these areas which were once pristine and clean. Now it is exactly the oppopsite and if anybody thinks otherwise then go and live there yourself….if you dare.

3
Ani Hart
Ani Hart
6 years ago

I have just read the post by a GP on gas affecting people in the area she works in. The fact that she is seeing a rise in people presenting with problems associated with CSG fracking has to be given full consideration because of the severity of the problem. She should not be judged because she is a professional Doctor with affiliations to various social or political causes. She has taken the Hippocratic oath of her profession and is abiding by it. Because she is making positive observations that do not agree with the money hungry gas fracking companies does not mean that she should be ridiculed in any way. They are only showing their gross ignorance by not listening to her. Her observations need to be given full consideration – not debridement.

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