Lead dust is in Broken Hill’s dust, soil, dirt, rainwater tanks and many other places. It is harmful to people of all ages, but the risk is highest for unborn babies, infants and young children.
Simple things including regular handwashing, keeping kids away from dust, dirt and soil, health eating, using baby high chairs, keeping your home free of dust, and drinking town water help reduce the risk.
Regular blood screening for lead is an important way to check our kids are safe.
The Broken Hill Lead Program offers voluntary and free annual blood lead screening for all local children aged under 5 years through the Broken Hill Child and Family Health Service and the Maari Ma Primary Health Care Service.
More than 700 children aged one to five years attended for blood lead screening in 2023, approximately 91 per cent participating in the program, and the highest rate seen in recent years.
In 2023, there was no significant change in blood lead levels among children screened. The average blood lead level for Broken Hill children aged one to five years was 4.4 micrograms per decilitre (μg/dL).
Other results in the 2023 Broken Hill Lead Program Report are:
- The average blood lead level for all children aged six months to less than 12 months was 2.4 μg/dL, compared to 2.5 μg/dL in 2022.
- Of the 152 newborns tested via umbilical cord blood screening, 24 percent were Aboriginal and 76 per cent were non-Aboriginal. The average blood lead level was 0.6 ug/dl, unchanged from 2022. There was no difference in the average blood lead level between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal women and newborns.
- In 2023, the program saw a small decrease in the number of children screened among two age groups compared to 2022: newborns and children aged 6 months to less than 12 months.
The release of the report is a timely reminder for parents and carers that all children should continue to be tested annually until they are five years old, which can be done at the same time as their routine childhood immunisations.
As children develop and begin to interact with their environment between six and 12 months by rolling, crawling, and putting objects in their mouth, the risk of exposure to lead increases but is slightly lower than when they become toddlers and have greater freedom to roam and explore. This is reflected in the higher levels of lead in the blood of toddlers.
It is widely recognised that there is no ‘safe level’ of lead in children, and we are always aiming to get blood lead levels as low as possible in the community.
Advice and information regarding blood lead levels in Broken Hill can be found at the Leadsmart website: https://leadsmart.nsw.gov.au/. You can also speak with a healthcare worker at the Broken Hill Child and Family Health service or Maari Ma to get more information.
A range of NSW Health resources including factsheets, response protocols and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) resources to help prevent and reduce elevated blood lead levels can be found at https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/.
