FreeRead | Article List (news/investigations)

For more than 20 years, Ramona Cocco has been living with an incessant smell from Rutherford's notorious Truegain waste oil refiner site and campaigning for action.

Last updated 10 days, 22 hr, 37 min, 5 sec ago by Ethan Hamilton

From darkness, a light starts to shine

The long road to the royal commission - for the Hunter and the Herald

Last updated 24 days, 22 hr, 54 min, 5 sec ago by

The whole story: Pasmincos toxic legacy

The Pasminco lead smelter closed down in 2003. But it left behind a toxic legacy that devastated the environment and the lives of residents living in the surrounding community.

Last updated 24 days, 22 hr, 44 min, 5 sec ago by

'Absolutely disgusted': why Kim Leeanne King hopes the government's legal action against 3M fails

'They made us fight for nearly five years...now the shoe is on the other foot.'

Last updated 4 days, 6 hr, 37 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

How will new group fix Williamtown's persistent PFAS crisis?

The Department of Defence has spent more than $100 million remediating PFAS hotspots.

Last updated 26 days, 7 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Hunter Water says region's drinking water already complies with PFAS guidelines

Push to reduce PFAS levels in Hunter drinking water supplies.

Last updated 25 days, 2 hr, 55 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Health authorities to assist Upper Hunter councils test for PFAS in drinking water

Upper Hunter drinking water supplies to be screened for PFAS.

Last updated 22 days, 3 hr, 47 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Dirty Deeds: The complete Newcastle Herald investigation

The complete investigation into contamination at Rutherford in NSW

Last updated 22 days, 7 hr, 47 min, 5 sec ago by

Call for warning signs near former Truegain site

A community campaigner who has spent years fighting against Truegain and the former company's toxic legacy is urging the NSW government to put up signs in the surrounding area informing people of the contamination, now that it owns the site.

Last updated 9 days, 23 hr, 6 min, 5 sec ago by

Former Truegain site valued at $0 before government takeover

The former director and owner of Rutherford's Truegain was not paid any money by the NSW government when it acquired the former business site for remediation after decades of pollution of the ground, air and water.

Last updated 9 days, 23 hr, 4 min, 5 sec ago by

Government acquisition of former Truegain site a 'huge win'

It has taken years of a Hunter community living with a "ticking environmental time bomb", but the state government's acquisition of the polluted Truegain site - six years after it was abandoned - is a "huge win", a NSW Labor MP says.

Last updated 9 days, 23 hr, 3 min, 5 sec ago by

Wrecking ball to end Truegain's toxic legacy

Truegain waste oil refinery demolition and remediation expected to cost $20 million.

Last updated 9 days, 23 hr, 1 min, 5 sec ago by Donna Page

A big step forward in the long-running battle to save Stockton Beach

An environmental review brings Stockton beach revival a step closer.

Last updated 26 days, 5 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Gabriel Fowler

Massive reinforcement of Stockton seawall planned ahead of big swell

Work will begin next month on the $5 million upgrade of the 600-metre long structure

Last updated 18 days, 10 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Runaway beach erosion leaves viewing platform teetering on the edge at Blacksmiths

A residents group has been documenting the decline since about 2014.

Last updated 29 days, 3 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Simon McCarthy

Send in the sand: Stockton beach once again crippled by devastating erosion

Heavy machinery recontours Stockton beach to slow sand loss.

Last updated 19 days, 7 hr, 33 min, 5 sec ago by Donna Page

Stockton assets under 'immediate threat' from erosion, report warns

Extended Stockton Coastal Management Plan placed on exhibition.

Last updated 10 days, 8 hr, 23 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Williamtown: The Newcastle Herald's complete investigation

Michael McGowan and Carrie Fellner explore how the RAAF base contamination scandal is changing lives.

Last updated 19 days, 11 hr, 5 min, 5 sec ago by

'Used as lab rats': Hunter residents lose faith as state backs PFAS inquiry findings

A NSW government report this week found a lack of coordination between agencies hindered managing PFAS contamination in the Hunter.

Last updated 3 days, 13 hr, 28 min, 5 sec ago by Simon McCarthy

Out by Christmas: Williamtown residents told they must sell as the state seizes Red Zone land

Williamtown residents whose properties are needed for the Special Activation Precinct have been told they must sell up by Christmas.

Last updated 9 days, 21 hr, 9 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Magnetic attraction used to remove PFAS pollution

University of Queensland researchers have pioneered a technique to remove per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) chemicals from water.

Last updated 9 days, 20 hr, 31 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Research investigates airborne PFAS pollution in Williamtown

Researchers are using the Williamtown Red Zone to study how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances can travel in the air.

Last updated 25 days, 4 hr, 50 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

New documentary highlights PFAS victims' fight for justice

Journalist Carrie Fellner looks at the impact of PFAS at Williamtown and Wreck Bay.

Last updated 2 days, 12 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

'We are still stuck here': residents slam new PFAS report

Both major parties are under pressure to announce their plans to help residents living with the impact of PFAS contamination in the Williamtown Red Zone in the lead-up to the federal election.

Last updated 9 days, 21 hr, 12 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

Seeing red - Residents furious as government dismisses PFAS blood test results

Two NSW government departments have distanced themselves from the significance of PFAS blood test results despite mounting overseas evidence of the link between exposure and serious illness.

Last updated 19 days, 9 hr, 57 min, 5 sec ago by Matthew Kelly

"Defence is the polluter, the polluter pays": Port Stephens election candidates on Williamtown crisis

Herald election special: Watch journalist Scott Bevan go head-to-head with election candidates before the 2019 NSW state election.

Last updated 19 days, 10 hr, 10 min, 5 sec ago by

Federal health panels PFAS report dismisses cancer link

A panel of health experts has found only 'limited' evidence that exposure leads to illness.

Last updated 19 days, 10 hr, 9 min, 5 sec ago by

'People dump stuff in there': meet the teens swimming in unexpected Hunter waterways

Two Hunter swimmers have courted social media notoriety, posting swims in unorthodox watering holes.

Last updated 8 days, 16 hr, 25 min, 5 sec ago by Simon McCarthy

Supplies fall, restrictions loom as Hunter hits highest April water usage in 20 years

Lower Hunter residents' consumption last month has added to pressure on the region's water supply.

Last updated 2 days, 6 hr, 32 min, 5 sec ago by Simon McCarthy

First sod turned on half-billion-dollar Belmont desalination plant, water bills to rise

A $530 million project to secure the Lower Hunter's water supply by 2028 is expected to see water bills rise by about $90 as Hunter Water turns the first sod on the Belmont desalination plant.

Last updated 29 days, 6 hr, 34 min, 45 sec ago by Simon McCarthy

Good drop saved in plan to pipe 20 million litres of recycled water each year

Precious drinking water will be saved as Hunter Water plans to pipe eight Olympic swimming pools, or 20 million litres, of recycled water to sports fields in Lake Macquarie each year.

Last updated 9 days, 23 hr, 9 min, 5 sec ago by Madeline Link

Algae amber alert for Grahamstown Dam

Samples taken from the Hunter's largest facility for supplying drinking water has led to an amber alert, due to the presence of blue-green algae, but Hunter Water has assured that what comes out of the tap "remains safe to drink".

Last updated 24 days, 22 hr, 21 min, 5 sec ago by Scott Bevan

Pelvic mesh: Suffer in silence

Open the link here to see an archive of the Newcastle Herald's coverage of the pelvic mesh issue since 2014.

Last updated 28 days, 21 hr, 48 min, 5 sec ago by

$$300 million settlement for pelvic mesh class actions

In an announcement Monday, Shine Lawyers revealed the mammoth settlement which will go towards women injured by being implanted with Johnson u0026 Johnson's pelvic mesh and vaginal tape devices.

Last updated 9 days, 19 hr, 2 min, 5 sec ago by

Pelvic mesh implant appeal knocked back

Medical device manufacturer Johnson and Johnson has failed in its bid to overturn a landmark ruling about harm caused by pelvic mesh implants.

Last updated 10 days, 22 hr, 36 min, 5 sec ago by

Landmark mesh implants ruling upheld

A Federal Court judge in 2019 found Johnson u0026 Johnson Group firms acted negligently and concealed the true extent of complications from the pelvic implants.

Last updated 24 days, 20 hr, 6 min, 5 sec ago by

Pelvic mesh implant appeal begins: Johnson u0026 Johnson challenge ruling

A Sydney court will begin hearing a multinational pharmaceutical giant's challenge to a landmark ruling that pelvic mesh implants caused debilitating injuries to hundreds of Australian women.

Last updated 24 days, 19 hr, 19 min, 5 sec ago by

Joanne McCarthy's Medical Mesh