Pollution Along Sydney, Australia’s Fabled Shores Poses Health Threat, Critics Say

Those beach-bronzed Aussies are paler this southern summer because, they say, the fabled Sydney shores are too polluted for safety.

State officials claim that pollution is no worse than 30 years ago, but a cleanup of Sydney Harbor by 20,000 volunteers in January produced tons of garbage including a car, 3,000 syringes and hundreds of tires and shopping carts.

Lifeguards are getting vaccinations against hepatitis B because of the dirty water, syringes and broken glass.

“You don’t need to be a scientist to realize that things are getting worse,” said Barton Lynch, world surfing champion, who will not train at the well-known Bondi and Manly beaches because of pollution.

Des Renford, who swam the English Channel, said he has stopped training at many of Sydney’s 37 beaches “solely due to the pollution.”

Some are “in a disgusting state,” he said, and drew this comparison: “Polluting the ocean is like pouring sewage over the Opera House.”

On Monday, The Daily Telegraph joined radio station 2Day in asking the New South Wales government to clean up the mess.

“Give us back our beaches,” the newspaper said in an appeal to Nick Greiner, the state premier. It said the “gross pollution of Sydney’s beaches is an immense problem” that could frustrate the effort to attract more than 2 million tourists a year.

“At the very least, it is stopping tourists getting full enjoyment from their holidays,” the Daily Telegraph declared. “At worst, it is turning them off, and away.”

Surfline, which monitors beach pollution daily, said it had issued 170 warnings since the Southern Hemisphere summer began Oct. 1 and that six beaches were hazardous.

“We don’t want to cause a major panic, but something has to be done,” said Gus Staunton of the Surf Life Saving Assn., which is associated with Surfline. “It is a major health risk.”

His group said it is encouraging its 64,000 members to be vaccinated against hepatitis B because of the health risks involved in patrolling beaches and saving lives.

“Lifesavers fall into a much higher risk than most because they are often required to rescue people who are bleeding from injury or who need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” said Ian Mackie, association medical officer.

“In addition, there are an increasing number of used (hypodermic) needles being found on Australian beaches, and if they accidentally pricked themselves they could end up with the disease,” he said.

Water Board spokesman Christopher Speary said the state government was spending $490 million ($400 million U.S.) to build three long-range ocean outfalls and upgrade existing sewage and industrial waste treatment facilities.

“By 1991 the problem will be fixed,” he said.

Speary said 1 million tons of sewage is dumped each day off Sydney, a city of 3.5 million residents. He blamed complaints of pollution on isolated incidents like a huge oil slick early in January and the dumping of more than 500 gallons of paint by mistake.

“I don’t accept the beaches are now more polluted than they were 30 years ago,” he said.

Existing sewage outlets were built during the Edwardian era, when neck-to-knee suits were required for bathing and “Sydney was a very small town,” Speary said. “Nobody could have known it would grow into the sprawling metropolis that it has.”

The Water Board sponsors television commercials asking housewives not to pour oil and other greasy substances down kitchen drains.

“We’re spending millions of dollars to clean the beaches but you won’t be able to see where it’s going,” one says.