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DEHUMANISING DISCOURSES: CULTURAL COLONISATION AND LEAD CONTAMINATION IN BOOLAROO
Author(s) -
McPhillips Kath
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1995.tb01025.x
Subject(s) - project commissioning , newcastle upon tyne , lead (geology) , public health , publishing , unit (ring theory) , colonisation , population , political science , geography , sociology , history , archaeology , psychology , medicine , colonization , demography , ancient history , law , nursing , mathematics education , geomorphology , geology
In 1992, the Public Health Unit in Newcastle, NSW, decided to investigate the impact on children of pollution from lead‐based sources in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas. The investigation centred around Boolaroo, a small suburb in Lake Macquarie that is dominated by Pasminco Metal Sulphides Pty Ltd – a lead smelter. This article explores the power relations that were activated between the Public Health Unit and the local population during the lead study. I argue that the medicalisation of lead contamination by health discourses masked the broader class and gender struggles that were at the heart of the ensuing conflict.