Clean bill of health

by Steve Read, Chief Scientist, Division of Forest Research & Development

FORESTRY Tasmania welcomes the findings of the Report of the George River Water Quality Panel.

The report shows that there is no evidence to support claims made on the February ABC Television program Australian Story that toxins from Eucalyptus nitens plantations in the George River catchment were having an adverse effect on the health of people in the St Helens community and on commercial oyster farms in Georges Bay.

The panel found that:

• the incidence and pattern of cancer within the St Helens region did not show any characteristics of a ‘cluster’
• foam samples on the George River which were used to back claims made on Australian Story were artificially concentrated during collection to levels up to 1400 times above those in the river water, which explains their reported toxicity, and they were non-toxic at lower concentrations
• the foam did not pose a risk to human health
• the foam was not linked to Eucalyptus nitens plantations, as it was also detected in a catchment devoid of these plantations

Information about how Forestry Tasmania selects the best trees for eucalypt plantations is available in a leaflet posted in the Current Topics section of the FT website. This outlines how the major eucalypt plantation species grown in Tasmania are the native Tasmanian blue gum E. globulus and the closely related E. nitens, which is native to Victoria and occurs in native forest in Melbourne’s water catchments.

Also in the Current Topics section is a pamphlet on pesticide use in Forestry Tasmania
plantations, and its regulation by the Forest Practices Code. On average, only one per cent of
Forestry Tasmania eucalypt plantations are aerially sprayed with insecticides annually, and
the products used do not persist in the environment. Water samples are analysed for both
insecticides and herbicides.

To view these pamphlets, download below in the 'attachments' section.