The Department for Health and Wellbeing (DHW), which has been monitoring the blood lead levels of children in the area since 1984, has published the 2021 first quarter analysis of blood lead levels in the area.
Scientific Services Director, Dr David Simon, from the Department for Health and Wellbeing, said the quarterly report provides a snapshot of the blood lead levels of children aged between zero and five years of age over the past 10 years.
“The latest results shows a deterioration in most of the reported blood lead indicators compared to the same reporting period last year, meaning the deterioration reported in the annual analysis of 2020 has continued into 2021,” Dr Simon said.
“The Environmental Protection Authority reported an upward trend in average lead-in-air levels last year following a four-year period of unstable emissions during the local smelter’s redevelopment.
“Children tested in this reporting period have experienced high lead-in-air during their early years, and as a result, their peak blood lead have reached higher levels than previous cohorts.
“This is evident in the increase in the average blood lead levels of two-year-old children, who often experience the steepest rise in lead exposure during their first 24 months of life due to normal mouthing behaviours, which typically peak around their second birthday.
“It is important to note that lead takes a considerable time to be excreted from the body. The smelter has met their lead-in-air licence limits at the end of March, however blood lead will take some time to reflect any improvement.”
While lead-in-air is the main driver of children’s blood lead levels, multiple contributors such as where a child lives, their age, diet, dusty weather conditions, and even the presence of deteriorating old paint in their home can all factor into blood lead levels. This reflects the importance of addressing all sources of lead in the community.
In the first quarter of 2021, 32.7 per cent of children tested had blood lead levels below the national lead exposure level of five micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL), which is 3.5 per cent worse than the first quarter of 2020.
Blood lead levels are measured against the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines, which advises that lead sources should be investigated then prevented or reduced above the exposure investigation level of five µg/dL and blood lead levels above 10µg/dL can have harmful effects on a number of body functions and organs in both adults and children.
