From: wlmss@peg.pegasus.oz.au
Newsgroups: aus.general
Subject: Local PCB Pollution Unstemmed
Date: 10 Sep 92 13:08:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:peg:993300066:000:4150
Nf-From: peg.pegasus.oz.au!wlmss    Sep 10 08:08:00 1992


__________________________________________________________________________
Fellow lifeforms:         Here is a letter I sent to the Tablelander which
circulates widely inland from Cairns here in    Wild Far North Queensland.
They printed it in its entirety, although they had to butcher the
paragraphs and sentence structure. The letter might also have been
printed in the even bigger "Cairns Post", another insipid Murdoch Press
Cadaver I rather not buy execept on saturdays for the job ads.
      Of course little Millaa Tip is just one serious source of pollution.
Fires like it burn every day all over Oz, all over this much abused World.
This repugnant and wildly foolish practice is potentially stoppable by
persistent Green pressure.
       As background I did a similar letter 3.5 years ago with the focus
on what happens when plastics burn with organic waste (dioxins).
        Then 3 years ago just before the last Queensland election I went
to a meeting held in Atherton to question candidates about green issues.
The ratbag right "Citizens Electoral Council" tried to take control and
soured the meeting but something was achieved.  I asked Pat Combden (who
soon became the ALP Environment Minister why the National Party State
Government of the time was not controlling rubbish tip arson. He replied
that there was a lack of commitment on their part.
        The fires have since continued unabated.
         Recently I was tactless enough to write to Mr Combden and ask if
his government's failure to stop tip fires reflected a lack of commitment
on thiir part. So far I have not the courtesy of a reply.
        I applaud what the Goss Govt and Mr Combden have done for the
Queensland environment, especially in creating national parks. Alas in
the future, because of today's tip arson, too many people will be too
dead to enjoy them.
        I see there is a new generation of plastic fire alarms on the
open market. As these are added to tip fires all over Oz we can now also
expect, in addition to chemical horrors, the very radioactive isotope
Americium in the drifting smog. Great stuff!
        If my approach and letter &tc &tc can be used by others to stop
"local" planetary pollution then more power to computer networking.
                                                In solidarity-
                                                Lawrie Williams
 
this has been crossposted to aus.genreral and gowild.news
 
 
 
Editor
Tablelander
Box 20 Atherton 4883                                       Box 99
                                                           Millaa 4886
 
                                                           3rd Sept 1992
 
 
Sir,
 
        Farmers know full well that dieldrin and other poisons in milk,
meat and other produce can wreck their market. PCB's are now in the news.
PCB is a cancer-causing poison even in tiny traces. If not incinerated at
very high temperatures it will spread and cause misery and death and will
continue to do so almost forever. Open fires never get hot enough to
destroy it.
        As pollution spreads and consumers become more fussy many primary
producers have awakened to find their own districts have become contam-
inated by a handful of misguided people. I believe those who conspire to
set illegal rubbish tip fires in breach of anti-pollution laws should be
dilligently brought to justice and fined heavily. Not ignored!
        The Millaa rubbish tip is just one "wildcard" source of PCB's.
Every week the tip is burnt poisoning dairy pasture and the Millaa Falls
scrub as well as the rest of the world. Of course many other toxins are
released besides PCB - chromium, selenium, dioxins, mercury, radioactive
isotopes and more, many more. It is a disgraceful situation.
        I invite the Tablelands National candidate Tom Gilmore MLA and
Labor candidate Fred Catarossi to clearly state their positions on this
issue. Indeed I challenge them in the long-term interests of the farming
community to DO SOMETHING NOW to stop the deliberate poisoning of this
clean and beautiful part of the world.
                                Lawrie Williams
 
 
Newsgroups: aus.general