Autism coal link study unable to move forward

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDOct 4 2010

There have been studies in the United States that have shown that there is a higher rate of autism among children living close to power stations. An Australian researcher following up on the possible link between coal-fired power stations and autism claims to have been denied access to data.

Associate Professor David Austin, from Melbourne's Swinburn University had requested Centrelink to provide post code data for children suffering autism but was refused on grounds of privacy. He then appealed to the-then minister, Bill Shorten and was rejected again. “They (Centrelink) are bound by very sensible protocols around privacy and those protocols state that in post codes, which is what we were looking at, where there were less than 20 cases of autism, they were only able to report to us that there were less than 20…So that could be zero, or it could be 19, and that wasn't going to give us the level of detail we needed on this study,” he said.

Emphasizing the need and importance of this study Associate Professor Austin said, “It's very very important research that needs to be done, so we would argue that yes it warrants serious consideration from the minister.” He explained, “We now know that there's an environmental trigger involved here. We know the condition isn't completely genetic, so it's our job to determine what those triggers are.”

He said that the team could have a full report ready within 12 months once they got the data. It would be easy to compare autism statistics from Tasmania, where there are no coal-fired power stations, with areas such as the Hunter Valley, where there are, he added.

He is planning to apply to the current Human Services Minister, Jenny Macklin, to allow access to the data. “I've got no doubt that through a reasonable process we could come to an outcome whereby we get hold of data that is completely de-identified but allows us to do the study,” he added.

He assured that the study would be subject to rigorous ethical standards and privacy would not be compromised. “We don't need people's names, addresses and phone numbers anything like that, we simply need cases,” he said.

According to a department spokeswoman under government protocols, data referring to fewer than 20 individuals would not be released to protect privacy. She added, “Professor Austin asked for specific data by postcode. Most of this data would refer to less than 20 individuals.”