Toxic reaction

By Tania Martin
A SILVAN woman who is fighting to find a safe way to live is calling for help after being diagnosed with a chemical illness.
Katherine MacIntosh, 34, had her life turned upside down 10 months ago when she was diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), which is incurrble.
It is now dangerous for Ms MacIntosh to leave her house for fear of a chemical induced reaction.
The list of chemicals that now make her sick is staggering and includes, perfume, household cleaners, soap, shampoo, paint, glue, photocopier fumes, cigarette smoke, petrol and rubber.
Ms MacIntosh is now calling for the State Government to help people in her situation by providing somewhere to build environmentally friendly housing.
She said all it would take is for the Government to rezone somewhere along the coast as a special use zone so that MCS suffers could build chemical free houses.
“I would love a safe place to live,” Ms MacIntosh said.
A spokesman for the State Government said that there were no plans at this stage to look at providing special zoning for eco-friendly housing.
Ms MacIntosh first started having chemical reactions last year but had no idea what was happening to her. She was living on a farm in Silvan when she started to get sick.
Ms MacIntosh had been exposed to farming chemicals but never connected her illness with the exposure.
She had trouble breathing, suffered with headaches and noticed that her lungs and throat were constantly inflamed.
After visiting a specialist, Ms MacIntosh was diagnosed with MCS, a disorder that would change her life forever.
She said she was surprised that she had been around chemicals all her life and it was only now that she was having a reaction.
Every time Ms MacIntosh steps out her front door she now risks having a chemical reaction.
Shortly after discovering her illness, Ms MacIntosh moved to her sister’s farm in Silvan and lived in a tent for months.
She said living in the tent had been the safest way to live.
But she has now moved into her sister’s farmhouse and made it as safe as possible.
However, Ms MacIntosh said there are still some aspects of her home that will remain unsafe because she can’t afford to replace everything with chemical free products.
She can’t even walk down the street as the fumes from passing traffic and impurities in the air can cause an attack.
Ms MacIntosh has also called for the Shire of Yarra Ranges to put up signs if staff are spraying pesticide or herbicides at local parks and reserves so she knows to stay away.
The shire’s manager of community relations James Martin said when the council undergoes any type of spraying it requires staff to put up signs in areas people may frequent.
“Warning signs are also put up in the case of spraying blackberries or other weeds that people may ingest,” he said.
Ms MacIntosh said that people should start thinking about all the chemicals they use and what affect it can have on their lives.
“I want people to be aware that this can happen to anyone.”
She is urging anyone with MCS or interested in finding out more about the illness to go to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/yarra-ranges-cs