Southall Waterside Development Blamed for Cancer Cases
Council's 'failure' to investigate link described as 'insulting'
Nina Bedi’s father and sister have been diagnosed with cancer since the Southall Waterside redevelopment began. Picture: Ged Cann.
A woman whose father and sister have suffered cancers since the Southall Gasworks redevelopment began, says the council’s refusal to investigate how the work might be linked to local illnesses is insulting.
Nina Bedi’s 51-year-old sister, Sharmila Moonga, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma shortly after a seven-month visit to the family home next to the housing estate which is being built on top of a disused gasworks in Ealing.
Her chemotherapy treatment is ongoing, and she now relies on a walking stick and a thick-soled shoe after her leg was shortened as a result of complications stemming from the cancer.
Ms Bedi’s 79-year-old father was diagnosed with solitary plasmacytoma in January – a single mass of cancer cells – after receiving a scan of his pancreas. The family, Ms Bedi says, have no history of cancer.
The Local Democracy Service has interviewed others living near the development who have complained of breathing problems, headaches, nausea, dizziness, and forgetfulness.
Sharmila Moonga, pictured after her treatment for cancer began. Picture: Nina Bedi
But Ealing Council says it has considered whether to conduct a study to collect long-term health data among local residents in the area and has concluded that this would not provide meaningful additional information. This was after Public Health England (PHE) advised it that pollutants coming from the site are below harmful levels.
However levels of a compound called naphthalene – a known cause of cancer in humans – at the site, have been found by PHE to be above both a ‘chronic minimal risk level’ (MRL) and guidelines from the World Health Organisation.
PHE says the naphthalene value does not indicate an immediate risk to health, as the guidelines are set to be protective of exposure over a lifetime.
It says: “Long term health impacts from naphthalene by any route into the body are uncommon.”
While Ms Bedi says she cannot prove her family’s illnesses are linked to the Gasworks, she says the coincidence is shocking.
She said: “My sister had chest X-rays in 2017, and there was nothing wrong with her chest. In 2018 she spent seven months here visiting us, and during that visit she slipped and wasn’t able to walk.”
That was in July 2018.
“She didn’t go for X-Rays because she was back on her travels. By the time she got to her destination her situation got worse.”
Her sister, now living in New York in order to get the treatment she needs, was now suffering breathing problems and her ankle hadn’t healed.
“They did chest X-rays and blood tests, and they told her she had multiple myeloma. The reason why she had breathing problems were because her ribs were breaking, and she had fractures in them.”
Nina Bedi’s home backs right onto the Southall Waterside site. Picture: Ged Cann
Diagnosed in August 2018, the cancer had invaded Mrs Moonga’s bones, making them brittle, and during treatment she also broke her hip and arm.
The mass in Ms Bedi’s father’s spine was found in January, during a scan for a separate disorder linked to his pancreas. He has since had radiation treatment, and is currently recovering.
“It’s had a huge impact on his health. He used to sit in the garden quite a lot.”
Ms Bedi recently met another woman at the hospital, whose father wore exactly the same mobility-restricting jacket as her husband, and the two got talking.
“She said he’s got cancer in his spine – I said ‘where do you live?’ She said Southall.”
“I couldn’t get over the fact she lives [so close].”
A spokesman for Ealing Council said advice provided by Public Health England was that air quality monitoring indicated there was unlikely to be any long-term health risks to locals from the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) detected. Some of these VOCs, including naphthalene, are known carcinogens to humans. But a recent Health Risk Assessment from PHE notes that naphthalene levels were regularly above guideline values.
The council spokesman said the health of residents was monitored by the council through a variety of measures, including a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), which provides an overview of the wellbeing of residents every year, including health inequalities experienced within the borough.
The spokesman said: “The council has considered whether to conduct a study to collect long-term health data among local residents in this area and has concluded that this would not provide meaningful additional information.”
The spokesman said it would be “virtually impossible” for any study to distinguish health issues due to the site works from other factors in the area or individual health conditions.
“For example, these could include health conditions that residents currently have or that would have developed naturally over a lifetime, general air quality and the long-term impact of wider determinants of health and wellbeing, e.g. housing conditions and employment.
“There are also a number of industrial sites in the locality where we have taken enforcement action to tackle air quality and pollution issues.
“Air quality monitoring at this site is continuing and is being reviewed on an ongoing basis.”
The spokesman said anyone concerned about their physical or mental health should contact their GP or call the NHS on 111.
Speaking previously, lawyer and QC Jo Sidhu said the residents’ planned legal challenge to the housing development would include a self-funded study of illnesses linked to the redevelopment.
Residents are currently crowd-funding for the legal bid, via this website.
During a heated public meeting on July 10, PHE acknowledged research showed some of the chemicals recorded at the site disproportionately affected BME people (Black and Minority Ethnic), of which Southall has a significant proportion.
However, PHE said the majority of the studies focused on children who had swallowed mothballs – a situation not directly comparable to Southall Waterside.
A spokesman said BME people were more often deficient in G6PD – an enzyme found in red blood cells which helps prevent chemicals like naphthalene damaging cells – and therefore more susceptible to some chemicals.
He said: “G6PD deficiency is most common in people from certain parts of Africa, India and Thailand (1 in 5 people).”
“Excluding the soil hospital, the average site-wide concentration at Southall Waterside falls within WHO Indoor Air Quality Guidelines.
PHE provides health advice and does not have a role in supervising or regulating the development.
Ms Bedi said her sister had always had a slightly weak chest and suffered from asthma, and her father was getting older, but she still wanted answers about the role Southall Waterside could have played.
She would still like to see a study conducted retrospectively, despite the majority of the soil remediation work having been completed.
She said: “I think it shows total disrespect for the residents and like our lives don’t matter.”
“They are happy to take our council tax and stuff from us and not give us the basic rights we deserve. If they know that so many people are worried and concerned about their health, and they’ve seen that through the public meeting, that wasn’t staged.”
Ged Cann, Local Democracy Reporter
August 19, 2019