Coal Health Study, Final Scottish Climate Camp Version
Photo Credit: Lindsay Addison
There has been no commissioned research into the effects of open-cast coal mining on the health of Douglasdale (South Lanarkshire, Scotland) residents. Globally, no research has yet been undertaken on the health effects of open-cast coal-mining operations which span such large spatial extents and decades-long time scale as those pending for the Douglasdale area of Scotland.
During the Scottish Camp for Climate Action at the Mainshill Solidarity Camp in Douglas Scotland 2009, Kirstie Stramler PhD, working under the auspices of Indymedia UK, performed a preliminary analysis on publicly available data.
The study revealed striking ill-health in people who reside near the Douglas and Dalmellington open-cast coal mines, as compared with aggregated UK health statistics and with a nearby Scottish village upwind from the mines.
The final version of the study from the Independent media tent at the Scottish Camp for Climate Action at the Mainshill Solidarity Camp can only be found here:
- Adverse Effects of Open-cast Coal Mining, 11 Aug. 2009 [PDF, 3.7MB]
- Adverse Effects of Open-cast Coal Mining, 11 Aug. 2009 [PDF, 1.2MB]
As these freely available government health statistics (see QOF and NHS databases) revealed shocking correlations between the operation of multiple open-cast coal mines and the negative effects on the health of the local population, this report has shed new light on the imperative to assess the heretofore neglected community health impacts of coal extraction activities occurring on the spatial scale of the South Lanarkshire area of Scotland.
This Scottish Climate Camp version of the Douglasdale report is finished. There will be no more Climate Camp Indymedia versions issued by Kirstie Stramler. The authoritative PDF version can only be found at the link above — any other versions are incomplete or are unauthorized.
A new, extended version will be compiled under the auspices of another organization. Address questions or comments on the report to Dr. Kirstie Stramler at coalhealthstudy@gmail.com .
Coal Health Study Blog 
on September 15, 2009 on 6:10 pm
I am Chair of West Hallam Environmental Group (WHEG), which has campaigned against two opencast sites in our area. We were successful in one, (Shipley West, Derbyshire, 2003) but failed after a public inquiry on the second (Lodge House, Derbyshire, 2006).
There is the possibility of further planning applications in the near future, so obviously any information is of interest.
Please can you therefore keep me informed of developments, and anny further information that becomes available. Likewise, I will forward any information that i consider appropriate.
Finally, our experience has shown that with the change in Government policy in 2004 negating the “presumption aginst opencast mining”, that to counter any application, it must be shown that there are insufficient mitagation on the various pollutions regarding health and the environment.
Peter Steiner
on September 16, 2009 on 7:34 pm
There are many issues to discuss, but perhaps most important is to extend you an invitation to the lecture by Dr. Dick van Steenis next week, to take place at McBride’s, Douglas Centre, on Wednesday 23 September, at 7:00PM. I will post a blog on the event soon.
Hope you can make it! The event will be filmed, posted online, and in DVD format, for international distribution.
Do you have an internet link to the 2004 negation? Many thanks if you could provide us with one, Nicholas has been investigating the various non-science aspects at Mainshill, including the planning violations and the jobs myth, etc.