Mercury
print Water tests face reviewPHILIPPA DUNCAN
March 21, 2010 12:01am
THE scientists who sparked the inquiry into St Helens' drinking water have relented and agreed to release their tests for review.
Marine ecologist Marcus Scammell said the results of tests done by six laboratories in New South Wales and the US would be given to the George River Water Quality Panel on Wednesday.
But the panel, set up by the State Government to investigate whether an unidentified toxin posed a risk to the town's water, will have to fly to Sydney to collect the report.
Sydney-based Dr Scammell and St Helens GP Alison Bleaney paid for the tests that found an unidentified toxin from the leaves of plantation eucalypts had made its way into the George River, the source of the town's drinking water.
They have both linked the toxin, which kills human cell lines, to what they say are high rates of cancer in the North-East.
No-win no-fee law firm Slater & Gordon is overseeing expensive tests in New Zealand, paid for by an unknown donor, to discover if the toxin harms humans.
The water quality panel's convenor, Environment Protection Authority chairman John Ramsey, said the firm had not responded to requests to hand over the data.
Dr Scammell last week refused to release his report, saying he "did not trust" the State Government, but he has now agreed if the handover occurs in Sydney, where the laboratories can present their work.
He has released a summary of the report to the Sunday Tasmanian. It lists tests done in Sydney and the US, which found plantation eucalypt leaves were the source of toxins in the George River.
Dr Scammell said Slater & Gordon, considering a class action on behalf of local oyster farmers, had New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research repeat the tests.
He said the results had backed up the first round of tests and the NZ institute was doing more work to discover if the toxin was harmful to humans.
"It's toxic to human cell lines, its source is leaf material, now we have to determine if it reaches levels in the water that will cause problems for land-based populations, including animals and humans," Dr Scammell said.
The State Government has installed a charcoal filter as a safeguard for St Helens' drinking water.
Dr Scammell said the filter would remove the toxin.
He also conceded toxicity to human cell lines only meant "it might" be toxic to humans, who have other barriers such as stomach bacteria, enzymes and acids.
"Alison showed me some of her patient records and there appeared to be a sudden and dramatic increase in some kind of illnesses, and Alison and I decided we needed to get to the bottom of it," he said.
"I am certain that her observation is correct, that it is a health issue."
The water quality panel is due to report in May
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