Soaring rise in lead levels in Port Pirie children after both Nyrstar smelters used in tandem last year

Lead levels in Port Pirie children have soared in the past 12 months, after Nyrstar used both its old and new smelters in tandem last year.

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Health officials have intervened to help children at Port Pirie after the number of kids with extremely high lead levels in their blood almost tripled in a year.

Case workers have been assigned to individual children with the highest levels as Nyrstar’s $660 million upgrade saw the old and new lead smelters working in tandem last year — the old smelter is due to close later this year.

The personal care plans comes as a new community awareness campaign to avoid exposure to lead in the air gets underway.

Port Pirie has faced a perfect storm of lead-in-air exposure as the upgrade — which has pushed Nyrstar to the very edge of its emissions licence compliance — coincided with the driest and dustiest conditions in a decade.

The Nyrstar smelter at Port Pirie, which is undergoing a $660m redevelopment. Picture: Karen Seindanis

The 2018 analysis of Port Pirie children’s blood lead levels shows an alarming deterioration with 16 children aged four or younger with at least 20 micrograms per decilitre compared with six the previous year.

The average level was 4.6 micrograms, a jump of 4.5 per cent in a year while almost a quarter of the 592 children aged four or younger had levels above 10 micrograms — a level the National Health and Medical Research Council warns can cause harm to “a number of body functions and organs in both adults and children”.

Average results in children aged two — considered a “robust indicator” of trends in lead exposure for the entire population — rose 3.6 per cent to 5.8 micrograms.

SA Health Director of Scientific Services Dr David Simon called the results “very concerning” and reflect the rise in lead-in-air emissions over the past two years during the smelter redevelopment.

He said children with the highest levels are receiving personal care plans, with “interventions” to reduce exposure tailored for the specific lead sources in each situation.

“Case workers work closely with parents and caregivers of children with elevated blood lead levels to offer individually tailored intervention measures, and educate families in ensuring each child’s living environment is as dust-free as possible.”

The Environment Protection Authority says 2018 was the driest year in a decade for Port Pirie, with more frequent strong winds blowing from the smelter towards residential areas.

EPA Director of Science and Information, Keith Baldry, said the smelter operator is required to meet compliance limits 0.50 micrograms per cubic metre over a 12 month average to meet its licence requirements, and most recently quarterly results were 0.49 and 0.48.

This means Nyrstar remains compliant with its licence.

The Nyrstar smelter at Port Pirie. Picture: Karen Seindanis

“The EPA is working closely with Nyrstar to make sure that everything that can practically be done to minimise the current worsening emissions during this transitional stage of the smelter redevelopment,” Mr Baldry said.

The Targeted Lead Abatement Program delivered by the Port Pirie Environmental Health Centre since 1984 has just begun a new community awareness campaign to remind residents of the importance of taking actions to reduce lead exposure around the home.