On Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 12:25 PM, Coal Terminal Action Group <hcec@hcec.org.au> wrote:
Dear friends,
For years, Hunter Valley residents have expressed concern about coal dust. In Newcastle, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Singleton and other Hunter Valley communities, we routinely wash coal dust off our houses and wonder what it’s doing to our lungs.
The coal companies say they can’t tell us whether fine particles from coal wagons spread into suburbs along the coal corridor. They can’t tell us how this pollution is affecting our health or how far coal dust spreads from uncovered coal wagons into the areas where we live, work and go to school. Until we told him two weeks ago, the Planning Minister Brad Hazzard was unaware that coal wagons in NSW were not covered!
The NSW Government has also failed to answer these questions, so we’re taking matters into our own hands: community groups are commissioning our own air quality monitoring. We’re raising funds to engage independent experts who will measure and report on fine particle pollution along the coal train line – day in, day out.
Can you help us raise $20,000 by October 30th to make it happen?
Right now, the NSW Government is considering a proposal for a fourth coal terminal in Newcastle that will double the volume of coal exported from our port. That would double the dust in residential areas throughout the Hunter. Imagine the headlines if we had regular, reliable monitoring on the levels of coal dust we’re already breathing in – it would make approving a new mega terminal a hell of a lot more legally risky and politically unappetising.
By donating now, you’ll help empower all residents with the information we need to protect our health, our families and fight back against the insatiable expansion of big coal. With coal exports from our region set to treble in the next 10 years, it’s time we learned once and for all how coal is already affecting our health. It’s time to get the facts, and hold politicians and big coal accountable for protecting our health.
We’d love to clear the air – but first we’ve got to know what’s in it. Please donate $25 or more – whatever you can afford:
https://coalterminalactiongroup.nationbuilder.com/donate
Thanks for being part of this community campaign,
Ben Latta
Hunter Community Environment Centre