MCU15/0095 & REC15/0022 PM Submission Object - Ian Suter

wellbeing. Wellbeing may be improved by access to new services or facilities or a range of other ways.
However,     any new uses must          be compatible      with   surrounding     uses in terms   of amenity,    the
environment      and economics.       As is demonstrated    through this document the proposed Development
does not improve,      and indeed is detrimental         to, community      wellbeing.   It is not compatible   with
surrounding uses in terms of amenity, the environment             or economics.


On the basis of even the most rudimentary economic needs and impact assessment none of the grounds
advanced by the Applicant could justify approval, either individually or collectively.


The Development      is detrimentol    to community     health and safety

The Precautionary Principle demands that, particularly in relation to young children, we address possible
risks where scientific understanding       is yet incomplete in a way that is not harmful. In the absence of
scientific consensus that the Development is not harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls
on the Developer and the Property Owner. The Applicant provides no such evidence or assurance and in
all the circumstances the Development must be rejected.


In Queensland, the health risk from benzene (and other pollutants) is recognized in the Environmental
Protection   (Air) Policy 2008 (EPP). THE EPPsets exposure limits in air to ensure protection of human and
environmental     health from those pollutants. The EPPobjective for benzene is a maximum concentration
of 3 ppb (parts per billion) over a l-year period.


According to research, Children are particularly           at risk from breathing in toxic fumes, benzene and
noxious vapours that are inescapable from the close proximity of petrol pumps, increased traffic and
large underground     storage tanks. A number of parents have identified that their children already suffer
with respiratory, heart, blood and liver conditions. Adding to these issues, with the real threat of proven
carcinogens causing cancers that can become apparent up to twenty years after hazardous exposure
and, therefore,    makes the proposed development            a nightmare for parents who naturally want their
children to grow up to be well.


Simply filling one's tank with petrol at a service station can cause one to feel dizzy, light headed and sick.
Would it be reasonable to approve a service station within such close proximity to the school and it's
amenities? The service station would be within 2S meters of the swimming pool used by babies and
toddlers and 30 meters from the main GSLCswimming pool. Swimmers would be breathing in gulps of
benzene and toxic vapour between swimming strokes. The proposed 2 m wall will not contain toxic
vapour that, due to the higher temperatures           in Queensland, is more expansive and more active than in
cooler climes.


Invisible petrol and diesel leakages from underground             tanks and pipes put students and GSLCfacility
users at risk, as well as contaminating     soil and underground water. Children play on the ground in open
areas such as the oval, and conduct outdoor science experiments in the area directly behind the toddler
swimming pool which is directly adjacent to the area of the proposed development.




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