The Northern Territory Health Department has confirmed 30 children have been found with elevated blood lead levels in three separate locations across remote areas of the territory.
In a statement to the ABC yesterday, NT Health Department’s chief health officer Professor Dinesh Arya said the alert was raised after children in Palumpa and Peppimenarti, in the West Daly region, were subjected to routine health checks.
“It was discovered that some children had higher than expected blood lead levels,” he said.
After not revealing the number of children affected, today the department said 30 children were being monitored after returning high levels.
In addition to Palumpa and Peppimenarti, children from the Emu Point outstation were revealed as being interviewed to determine how they could have been exposed to the toxic substance.
The Health Department would not say how significant the lead levels were, except to say they were higher than normal.
Professor Arya again declined the ABC’s request for an interview and instead issued a statement.
“All 30 children and their families are being interviewed to identify a possible reason for high lead levels in these children. More than half of [the] interviews have been completed already and we anticipate all interviews will be completed this month,” he said.
“All the children are receiving continued care from specialist paediatricians.”
An information paper by the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council states:
All Australians should have a blood lead level below 10 micrograms per decilitre … all children’s exposure to lead should be minimised.
Lead is not required for human health, and even small amounts of lead and lead compounds can be toxic when ingested or inhaled.
Children are considered to be more sensitive to the health effects of lead than adults. They absorb more lead into their bloodstream from the gut and airways and retain more in their body than adults.
Long-term exposure to lead at levels less than those required to cause acute symptoms can result in weakness in the fingers, wrists and ankles, general fatigue, headaches, anaemia, small increases in blood pressure, and reduced kidney function.
Robert Parker, president of the Australian Medical Association Northern Territory, said the discovery was greatly concerning, as high blood lead levels were difficult to treat.
“Obviously it’s a major concern because elevated lead means it’s a problem and it can potentially have an impact on health. So if its above normal range it has to be a concern and its quite important that the cause is identified,” he said.
Dr Parker said many health conditions were associated with high lead levels including “anaemia, fatigue, kidney failure and mental [health] problems [including] aggression [and] psychosis”.
Mayor of the West Daly Regional Council Harold Wilson told the ABC he was unaware children had tested positive for high blood lead levels.