MCS/ES in the News

For more than a decade, the 61-year-old has suffered from "environmental sensitivity", more commonly known as multiple chemical sensitivity. For the past 10 years, she has unsuccessfully lobbied the Department of Communities for a transfer from her unit, northwest of Ipswich, which she believes is damaging her health.

While it's yet to be confirmed toxic herbicides actually killed Sydney farmer Sam Vella, it's shocking to be reminded just how deadly the chemicals we put on our food really are. The WHO and UNEP estimate three million farm workers a year in the developing world experience severe poisoning from pesticides, about 18,000 of whom die, while up to 25 million may suffer mild pesticide poisoning yearly.

KYLIE and Simon Jack are among several families living in the shadow of Alcoa's chimney stacks who are pleading with the Government to help them get out. They are among 132 homeowners excluded from the property purchase scheme. The Jacks say they are trapped, with little chance of selling their homes on the open market.

MINUTE after minute, hour after hour, for more than 1000 interminable days, Amelia Hill has watched the world go by from behind a plate of glass. The 36-year-old's life has narrowed to this tiny space, a room that could be crossed in five long strides - if she could manage them.

CAN you be allergic to the 21st century? This is Amelia Hill's reality - and she has to take some pretty drastic action to survive. For almost five years, I've lived in one single room, stripped of all possessions - apart from a fold-out bed that doesn't even have a mattress.

A SENIOR public servant who claimed her toxic Brisbane office put her life in "danger" has had her compensation claim knocked back. Mother of five Amirah Aboutaleb, asked for a payout under the federal compensation scheme in May 2012, claiming she got sick when she was an executive level 1 in the Australian Taxation Office's Chermside branch in Brisbane's north in 2009.

Melbourne newspaper The Waverley Leader has a recent news item about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. You can read the full article here.

The article focuses on Lynne Roberts (pictured) and her struggle with MCS.

The article also mentions that Lynne is a member of the Allergy and Environmental Sensitivity Support and Research Association (AESSRA) which held Melbourne's first large-scale fragrance-free seminar on 15 May (see our news article from Saturday 9 May for more information about the Seminar).

Katherine McIntosh lives in a tent because she has Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and is unable to live in a normal house. Photo: Angela Wylie AUSTRALIANS are exposed to chemicals linked to cancer, diabetes and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder every day, a population health expert says.

IT'S nearly three months after the start of the school year - but Wagga girl Bridgett Barr is still waiting to attend school. A stoush between her mother, Angela Forman, and the Department of Education (DE) shows no sign of letting up. IT’S nearly three months after the start of the school year – but Wagga girl Bridgett Barr is still waiting to attend school.

A stoush between her mother, Angela Forman, and the Department of Education (DE) shows no sign of letting up.

The department wants Ms Forman to provide “detailed medical information” about a condition known as extreme chemical sensitivity so it could “develop an appropriate solution” into the future.

Ms Forman said the chemical sensitivity prevents her daughter from attending school in person as it causes allergies with cleaning products used by the school.

This article is a frank and honest account of my dealings with big media companies over the past year or so in relation to my chronic illness. My aim is to make you aware of how badly you may be treated by television and radio stations, as well as national newspapers and other print/web media companies, if you have a chronic illness and are approac...