$26m Port Pirie lead fix plans are underway, reducing emissions at Nyrstar metal processing plant

A $26m plan to improve Port Pirie residents’ health and reduce lead emissions is well underway, with the Nyrstar plant, public housing and parks all in focus.

Lead exposure has long been a major challenge for Port Pirie, but it’s being tackled head on amid a $26m plan to improve locals’ health and address negative stigma about the town.

Nyrstar, which operates Port Pirie’s metals smelter, says work is well underway on plans to build a $23m product recycling plant that will lead to a major reduction in lead-in-air levels.

The project, to take about 2.5 years, will see “intermediate material” stored indoors, rather than under tarps outside, also reducing its movement around the site.

Nyrstar employees Hamish Wright, Amy Wright and James Oakley at the Port Pirie Smelter. Picture: Simon Cross

It comes as the state government and local council are also working on public housing and garden upgrades to reduce the risk of lead being ingested at people’s homes or in parks.

The 2020 lead-in-blood figures for two-year-olds were at the highest level noted since 2011.

Nyrstar vice-president of Australian operations Dale Webb said the product recycling plant project, backed by $7m in state government funding, came on top of $25m worth of environmental projects at the site last year.

Improvements have included changes to wharf operations, new ventilation and sprinkler systems, and more frequent street sweeping. Mr Webb said reducing lead emissions was a “fundamental” part of the business’s plans.

James Oakley, principal metallurgist at Nyrstar, has three children, aged 5, 3, and 10 months, and admits he was wondering how concerned he should be about lead emissions in Port Pirie before making the move there.

Dale Webb, Vice President Australian Operations at Nyrstar, Port Pirie. Picture: Simon Cross

“But there’s a real push from the business to make some real change in that space,” he said. “There’s a lot of investment that you can see on-and-off-site.”

Works are also under way on a $2.5m project to upgrade more than 40 SA Housing Authority properties, which are home to children under five years old.

Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink said that included sealing homes to reduce the amount of dust that could enter, landscaping, ensuring all windows had screens and removing contaminated carpets.

At Port Pirie Council, acting mayor Alan Zubrinich said the municipality would use $875,000 from the government to investigate access to more water to help make the district greener, and develop a masterplan for the town’s growth.

The council wants to increase lawns, plant ground covers and use mulch to reduce the potential for lead exposure in parks.