EXPOSURE to arsenic in soil and mine waste may have led to an increase in cancer risk in the Goldfields region including Ballarat, according to new research.
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The research shows that the incidence of some cancers between 1984 and 2003 was slightly higher in areas with higher arsenic levels.
Published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, the research is the work of former University of Ballarat researcher Dr Dora Pearce.
However, Dr Pearce said the research was conducted at a Statistical Local Areas level rather than individual personal level.
“It takes a broader look at the incident of cancer in the area,” Dr Pearce said.
“There may be other factors that influence the risk of cancer at the individual level including their age, diet and smoking habits.”
People’s exposure levels, she said, also differed at a geographical area level.
“And because it is done at a geographical area level, people’s exposure levels are very different and that could be where they live in relation to high soil arsenic, their behaviour or lifestyle.”
Herself a Goldfields resident, Dr Pearce said she did the research to raise awareness among parents about the risk of childhood exposures to arsenic in soil.
“In the Goldfields region, many residential communities have grown up around historical gold mining areas,” she said.
“We hope that by raising community awareness of this issue, childhood exposures to arsenic in soil, and future cancer risk, will be reduced.”
Arsenic, Dr Pearce said, was naturally occurring around gold mineralisation, and was even used as an indicator in gold exploration.
“Despite some testing of soil arsenic in residential areas, our research suggests that ongoing monitoring of environmental sources of arsenic is needed on an expanded scale.”
Dr Pearce said some simple steps to help reduce risk included not allowing children to play around mine waste.
