THE Swanbank Public Health Inquiry has found direct medical links between health complaints and odour from the number of waste and industrial operations in the area.
The inquiry found no evidence that odours from Swanbank operations were toxic or a cancer risk but found odorous chemicals in the air did not need to be at toxic levels to impact human health.
It found the most common symptoms include respiratory, ear-nose-throat, neurological, gastrointestinal, skin and mental health.
“The evidence … dismisses the possible implication that human health impacts arising from living with non-toxic odours are essentially ‘all in people’s minds’. For people living in an odorous environment, the regular presence of an offensive smell, its variability in strength, and the sense that one cannot escape from it, even when at home, creates stress, tension and anxiety among those affected,” the inquiry report states.
About 500 people made submissions to the inquiry, with health complaints including nausea, headaches, coughing and wheezing, skin irritations, sleep disturbances and stress.
The inquiry found the symptoms reported by the community were credible and consistent in detail.
The Department of Environment, which has been investigating concerns raised by the community about odour, dust and other environmental nuisance in the industrial areas for more than 10 years, told the inquiry that concentration of waste, composting and other potential odour generating activities in the Swanbank area within close proximity to residential development was a unique situation within Queensland.
The inquiry found that landfill odours were more persistent and sulfurous, while composting odours were transient, but could be particularly strong if aeration and moisture levels were not properly controlled.
Other potential sources of odour in the industrial areas include fertiliser production sites, recycling/resource recovery sites and asphalt plants.
Former Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard, who led the inquiry, said although not toxic, the foul smell coming from the industrial areas was having a negative impact on the daily lives of thousands of Ipswich residents.
“The human health issues aside, we also found that the smell had social impacts, with residents reducing the time they spent outdoors, being reluctant to host visitors, and worrying about the reputation of their community,” he said.
The inquiry’s recommendations include:
- providing some immediate relief to the community from the most offensive odours from composters;
- considering options for providing long-term relief from highly offensive odours, either through the construction of enclosed composting operations or relocating composters to a new location;
- applying the above recommendations to other commercial composting sites in Ipswich;
- auditing all remaining odour-producing companies and developing an overarching odour management plan for the industrial areas;
- expanding the air monitoring program to more accurately assess community health impacts;
- prohibiting future residential developments from encroaching within buffer distances for the industrial areas;
- leveraging existing laws and considering legislative improvements to better manage odours; and
- establishing an inter-departmental committee to oversee the implementation of the recommendations.
Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said a dedicated committee would oversee the implementation of the recommendations and there would be ongoing consultation with the community and the industry.
He said the Government’s response to the recommendations would prioritise the health and wellbeing of Ipswich residents.
