Cancer and Industrial Pollution
State government inquiry whitewashes Australian chemical leak
By Terry Cook, October 18, 2011
The inquiry was part of a damage control exercise to placate Newcastle residents and head off any genuine probing of the incident’s underlying causes.
Australia: Victorian government buries toxic dump as election issue
By Peter Byrne, SEP candidate for Broadmeadows, October 30, 2010
The state Labor government is trying to use another official inquiry to head off anger among residents over an apparent cancer cluster around the Tullamarine Hazardous Waste Landfill.
US: Government study finds widespread mercury contamination
By Dan Brennan, September 3, 2009
Mercury is polluting streams across the country with alarming frequency, according to a study published last month by US Geological Survey.
Chicago suburb provided contaminated water
By Clement Daly, May 13, 2009
The village of Crestwood, Illinois, knowingly supplied its residents with contaminated tap water for over two decades, according to an investigative report by the Chicago Tribune.
A letter on Canada, South Africa and deadly asbestos
November 1, 2008
The following letter was sent to the World Socialist Web Site in response to the article, “Canadian Government defends export of asbestos to poorer nations.”
Wollongong steelworks pumps out dangerous dioxins
Report confirms Workers Inquiry findings
By Peter Stavropoulos, February 10, 1999
BHP's Wollongong steelworks has been identified as Australia's largest source of emissions of dioxins--highly toxic chemicals that have been linked to birth defects and cancer, including lymphoma and leukaemia. A report by the environmental group Greenpeace cites estimates by the state Environmental Protect
Industry link to leukaemia and cancer confirmed
Australian Workers Inquiry answers government challenge
By Mike Head, April 7, 1998
Following a challenge by a state government agency, the Workers Inquiry into the leukaemia and cancer crisis in the Australian steel city of Wollongong has issued comprehensive new figures confirming a close relationship between cancer and industrial pollution.
A Civil Action, by Jonathan Harr, Vintage Books, New York, 1996
A telling saga of cancer and the courts
By Book Review By Peter Stavropoulos, February 21, 1998
This book, though written as a gripping novel, is a true story. It chronicles the tortured history of a court case mounted against three major US companies. They were accused of dumping poisonous chemicals that caused leukaemia deaths and severe health problems among children and entire families in the town
Follow us on