Consultant warns of risk to life for child living by Walleys Quarry landfill - as the case heads to the High Court
We've been speaking exclusively to the consultant who wrote the medical report for the case of Mathew Richards from Silverdale
Last updated 17th Aug 2021
A leading health expert tells us a Newcastle landfill is having a "lifelong detrimental" impact on a five-year-old boy from Silverdale - as his family prepare to take the issue to London's High Court.
The case between Mathew Richards and the Environment Agency will be in court Wednesday 18th August and Thursday 19th August 2021.
Mathew's family claim his respiratory health is being worsened by long-term exposure to hydrogen sulphide, which is the name for the potent and lingering fumes surrounding the landfill site, only a stones throw from the home he has grown up in.
Dr Ian Sinha is a consultant respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. He compiled an extensive and detailed expert medical report for the case of Matthew.
The twenty-page document reported how exposure, especially long-term, to hydrogen sulphide will significantly affect Mathew's quality of life and future respiratory health, and this will subsequently reduce his life expectancy.
In an exclusive interview, Dr Sinha said:
"The far more worrying thing is the chronic long term breath by breath exposure to poor quality air, particularly when it's breathed by children.
"We know that children are at higher risk of problems of air pollution. They breathe in more air than adults, their immune systems are less well equipped.
"Some evidence and common sense would tell us that chronic exposure to hydrogen sulphide is bad for your lungs, there's certainly no evidence that it's safe to breathe - and when you're in that situation, most healthy adults will be fine - but we need to base it on people who are going to suffer the most, and that is, unfortunately, children.
When children are telling you that they can't breathe. You've got to take it seriously.
Dr Sinha added: "When you've got a group of children who can't play outside because it's so uncomfortable for them to breathe, can't sleep can't concentrate, then something has gone wrong. In my clinic, if a child says to me, I can't breathe, I wouldn't dismiss it and go oh, you'll be alright.
"They will see the problems now. They will cough they'll have runny eyes, they'll have those problems now, but they'll have them in 20, 30, even 40 years time and that's equally as concerning.
"Every month that we leave it is a month that we are exposing children to something that is harmful - as their lungs are still developing.
"There's no situation exposing a developing fragile lung to something as toxic as hydrogen sulphide for every breath for someone's child, there's no way that that is safe.
"What we want to avoid is a load of people who are children now in Silverdale, turning up with their GPs in 15 20 even 30 years time with life limiting or very debilitating respiratory problems."
What the Environment Agency have said
In a briefing statement the Environment Agency, who regulate the landfill site said:
"An application for a judicial review has been lodged with the High Court involving the regulatory decisions of the Environment Agency in relation to the operational activities of Walleys Quarry Limited.
"The Environment Agency is currently following the relevant litigation process in relation to this application and is unable to comment on matters that may appear in court. A hearing is scheduled for 18/19th August.
"We don’t want the community to continue to live with the distress caused by landfill gas being released from the operations at Walleys Quarry landfill. We are challenging Walleys Quarry Ltd (formerly Red Industries RM Ltd) every step of the way to act to address this and to operate in line with their permits."
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