Xstrata and the Queensland Government are being held to account for toxic emissions from the Mount Isa lead smelter and the high blood lead levels in local children.
An internationally renowned neuroscientist and expert on lead, Professor Theodore Lidsky, has found that long term exposure to lead is causing grossly elevated blood lead levels, brain damage and retardation, ABC 3 News reported.
The mining giant Xstrata and the Queensland Government have long dismissed claims that emissions from the company’s Mount Isa mine causes lead poisoning.
But Queensland Health chief medical officer, Jeannette Young, confirmed the Mount Isa mine was responsible for the toxic emissions, the Australian newspaper reported.
The admission has forced Xstrata to finally agree to be interviewed and has sent the Government into full damage control, ABC reported.
By the end of the same day, Sept. 17, Dr Young’s office had issued a statement saying Young had expressed an unqualified opinion.
Five of eight families that commissioned Professor Lidsky’s report are suing the mining giant Xstrata, the Queensland Government and the local council. Their lawyer, Damian Scattini, says while the study strengthens the legal case, the families are going through difficult times.
An internationally renowned neuroscientist and expert on lead, Professor Theodore Lidsky, has found that long term exposure to lead is causing grossly elevated blood lead levels, brain damage and retardation, ABC 3 News reported.
The mining giant Xstrata and the Queensland Government have long dismissed claims that emissions from the company’s Mount Isa mine causes lead poisoning.
But Queensland Health chief medical officer, Jeannette Young, confirmed the Mount Isa mine was responsible for the toxic emissions, the Australian newspaper reported.
The admission has forced Xstrata to finally agree to be interviewed and has sent the Government into full damage control, ABC reported.
By the end of the same day, Sept. 17, Dr Young’s office had issued a statement saying Young had expressed an unqualified opinion.
Five of eight families that commissioned Professor Lidsky’s report are suing the mining giant Xstrata, the Queensland Government and the local council. Their lawyer, Damian Scattini, says while the study strengthens the legal case, the families are going through difficult times.
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