Governments, some authorities, industry and parents Paul.
I cannot understand how any parent could expose their children to such a dreadful toxin - just for a quid. Port Pirie is a town founded on child abuse and neglect. I would gaol the lot of them.

Lead poisoning is just a part of the multitude of toxins that reside in the air and landscape of Port Pirie. Rates of cancer are also above the Australian average.

Anecdotally, both my mother and aunt who were born and raised in Port Pirie died of the very rare disease scleroderma. It is a slow, inexorable disease that produces an excess of collagen in the skin of all body organs. It slowly asphyxiated my mother by turning her lungs to scar tissue and my aunt's legs to gangrene.

http://www.sclerodermaaustralia.com.au/

There is no available information to determine whether this illness is caused by environment. However, it is extremely rare, does not appear to be genetic, yet killed two members of my family, who were extremely healthy in all other aspects (and neither smoked nor drank).

I do not blame my grandparents, they only had the knowledge that was provided to them. It is only in (relatively) recent years that levels of lead have been made publicly available. Nor were either grandparent there for the almighty dollar! Like many towns that have been polluted by irresponsible business and allowed to continue by equally culpable government, vital information has been suppressed from the public and the continued lack of outcry would confirm that this issue has been kept silent.

That is a shocking story Ms A... tragic and deeply disturbing.

True your grandparents would not have known what was happening and would have been lied to by governments and by the industry. But for 30 years or more to my knowledge the hazards of lead - particularly for children - have been well known in Port Pirie. And they stay there.

It is criminal. And I hope eventually that generations of Port Pirie's kids are able to be recognised and compensated for it. No different to asbestos. And there were kids in Wittenoom too. How Gina's dad got his start.

I still have relatives living there still. They are not stupid, ignorant nor irresponsible. The reasons are far more complex than would appear at first glance.

I would never live there. But then, I wasn't born there and my only connection were family - all of whom I adore - they are lovely people. Then again I want to stay where I am living despite the threat of bushfires - humans are perverse creatures.

However, the people who knew and have always known - government, industry, doctors and other people directly involved have either done nothing or been silenced.

There may well be easy targets on which to lay blame - but the solution is not so easy. Not until the human race has evolved to an extent where ALL of us realise we are in this together, that what we do has consequences for others either immediate or long term.

Won't be in my life-time - we can't even discuss body functions without being denigrated - what hope for the whistle blowers?

"I still have relatives living there still. They are not stupid, ignorant nor irresponsible."

Well yes Diana, they are... especially if they have kids. Let us hope they are ignorant and do not know that lead is such a horrendous toxin.

Hopefully they are not stupid - unless the lead has already done its work.

But if they do know that lead makes your kids stupid - then yes you bet they are irresponsible. No, worse actually negligent and uncaring. Irresponsible implies foolish risk-taking. With this stuff there is little risk and the thing being risked is supposed to be what it's all about - the kids and their future.

Now I don't care if they've been silly enough to invest every cent they own in some mansion overlooking the smelter, that everyone they know lives there, that they like the fishing ... Dianna, there is no excuse for this. None. They should leave.

This smelter only operates because people work for it, because governments let it, and because investors make a quid from it. I have a dreadful fear that were the government to shut it down the good burgers of Port Pirie would be out leading their kids along the street in protest. As if they cared.

Aw shucks! Our first tiff.

Sorry to sound cynical, but this is just another of the crimes committed by industries denials and their influence on governments. Well known examples are, in no particular order:

Mercury from gold mining operations
Asbestos mining and use
Tobacco

and now "carbon" pollution of our atmosphere.

All these and Lead pollution have been vigorously defended by those who knew the facts but were more interested in profits than human health.

In relation to governments, Bob Dylan said it - When will they ever learn!

Bill Raper, M. Env. Sc. (Monash)

Not cynical Bill, just realistic.
It seems that industry's needs and profits will always be paramount to the welfare of the community.
You mention a few..asbestos, tobacco. I'd also add genetically modified crops and foods.
In all of these the science showing real problems are denied, and scientists are silenced.
With governmnets it's a case of 'don't look, don't find'

Just a gentle reminder.

I have lived and worked in Mount Isa and Townsville. I think some of you may be forgetting that they were both built because of the activities you are trying to comment about. Yes these are legacy issues and authorities and industry should do more but it is your choice to live in those areas and take the risks. Those industires have been there prior to your arrival so I suggest do your research prior to moving somewhere.

No one is innocent in this situation.

Sorry Rodney... but the innocent sufferers of lead contamination (which is preventable), are the fetus, the infant and the child of anyone who for whatever reason lives in a town suffering from widespread lead contamination. They do not have a say in where they live, what their parents decide or what has happened to damage their brains and organs. From the womb, to the cot to the child up to about 6years old lead is absorbed into the body paving the way to future organ and brain dysfunction. The dysfunction is often manifest by lowered IQ, nervous system and kidney damage, poor muscle coordination, hearing damage, seizures, speech language and behavioral issues.. The lead absorbed into the blood stream by way of ingestion, inhalation or dermally through the skin, can jump the blood brain barrier and arrive at the brains neurons where it mimics calcium which causes neuronal synaptic dysfunction and death of neurons (brain damage). Lead exposed pregnant mothers are innocent sufferers because they are uninformed of the fact that they may be lead contaminated and that there is a risk the lead in their system will pass via the placenta to the fetus. Also, families who have not been informed of the lead exposure hazards which they are going to encounter when they arrive in lead contaminated towns to a new job, new school and new house are also innocent sufferers because they are ignorant of the facts known by the stakeholders who remain silent or inactive on these issues. My view mentions only the tip of the iceberg relating to the health problems caused by elevated blood lead levels but consider now that you at least know this much, would you now place any infant or pregnant woman at risk for a high weekly wage? What price on good health of children. Would you now expect that the stakeholders who know or ought to have known of the lead dangers had a duty of care to keep families informed and have in place a safe way for everyone to live or work in that environment? What would you expect the stakeholders to do to protect any families health and welfare while the good money was being earned? A house, a school, a living environment free from fine micron sized lead particulate which cannot be ingested, inhaled or dermally absorbed by anyone in the family, might be a start in breaking the lead contamination "cycle" which has been suffered by generations of workers and their families in these particular communities. How do we get that to happen is the question.....is there anyone out there prepared to offer advice on that matter? Should communities be kept in factual ignorance of any health hazard which pervades their home, garden, school, shopping center and every aspect of their lives?

Yes William I do understand the effects of lead and many other products/ by-products of industrial processes on people including unborn children. My concern is the lack of accountability being displayed from individuals who point the finger at others for their issues. We do need better accountability from ALL sides of the equation. I can understand the situation you describe regarding government and industry not informing the public of potentially harmful situations in a space where the risk is not obvious (eg old chrome platers, petrol stations that have been developed over) to new comers but given there is a very large stack in the middle of the towns in question I would certainly try to understand the risks prior to moving. Shirley has a great comment below. Take the situation in the northern beaches of Townsville. You have several industrial facilities in that area and development has been allowed to encroach. Now those residents compain bitterly about those industries and would like them closed. In this case it is all sides who are to blame for the current situation.There is a reason why industrial facilities are zoned seperately.

I guess what I am saying is I would like all parties to seriously think about their actions not just government and corporations.

Blaming the victim is always unjust and non productive. The operator of the smelter is guilty of poisoning the town. The legislature is guilty of collusion in allowing the operation of a smelter without emission controls. No business is more important than food and water. The costs of emission controls is a normal cost of doing business, and the cost of not using them is far greater, but that cost is pushed off onto the whole society. This is typical short sighted planning that ignores long term losses in favor of short term gains.

Agree.

Having experienced personal impact of the poisoning of Port Pirie, I know how useless it is blaming the victims. Particularly when the solutions require the cooperation of government and big business - who were the best informed and in the best position to prevent the toxicity to begin with.

Perhaps there should be a relocation of all residents of polluted towns - funding provided by both government and big business for the provision of homes, schools and medical centres in non-polluted regions. This would give the population somewhere to go to and avoid being accused of irresponsible behaviour for having the temerity to be born in towns like Pirie.

Nah, its cheaper just to point the finger and blame, blame, blame.

At the risk of precipitating another spat Ms Art, I shall wade in undaunted.

You are dead right that it will take government leaning on business to fix this - but without a display of local anger and fury proportional to the crime - any government will (apparently safely) assume that everything is fine by the locals. and they want this foul business to continue.

And sadly, by the look of things, they do. And that is the real tragedy to me.

Why aren't the streets of Port Pirie flowing with the blood of the children of smelter executives?

Unfortunately Andy it seems that you have allowed your emotions to interfere with the salient point made by the results of the research regarding the widespread lead contamination / pollution at Port Pirie. That is the fact that children in Port Pirie have probably suffered cognitive dysfunction and impairment as a result of exposure to the inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption of micron size lead particulate and that they should not have suffered that insult.

That research conclusion does not infer that the residents of Port Pirie are stupid and not one reference in the research is made to the people of Port Pirie being stupid, yet you seem to have jumped to that conclusion, and become offended by your own inferences that the author has stated or alluded to it.

Not many researchers / scientists have the courage to say it as it is and we need more people of this ilk who are prepared to stand up and let the "truth" out.

The truth in this case hurts because the people concerned who have been "leaded" that is, been exposed to high levels of toxic heavy metal which has managed to secrete its way into their bones, teeth, organs and brain feel that the rest of the world considers them as being "stupid". That is not the case.

To the contrary the children who have been tested and found to have high blood lead levels have suffered an insult to their well being and health and that is the truth of it, not that they are stupid. Download the work of Professor Lidsky and other neuroscientists and you will see that is the case.

The level of insult to the brain of each Port Pirie child may be different and in some cases depending on the level of long term exposure and absorption of lead, be so insignificant it is practically of no account. However, some children display behavioural problems as a result of their own level of lead absorption, which problems are of great significance in their lives to a degree which seriously influences their concentration, retention, learning capacity, job opportunities and chances in life generally.

Instead of being offended Andy, its time to take stock of what the irrefutable evidence of this research work has concluded and find out how to remove the people most likely to suffer from lead from the source (children mainly up to 6years old) to protect their future health and wellbeing.

How is that goal to be achieved is the MAIN question for people like you who grew up in Port Pirie. First get a proper comprehensive knowledge of the issue of how lead got into the children of Port Pirie, then become proactive in your community to putting a stop to the ongoing capacity for that contamination to reach generation after generation of children.

Professor Taylor has done his part ..... so don't kill the messenger.

What can you now do for your own community?

Thank you Mr McInnes for your sensible reply to Andy Miller's post. I think Mr Miller may have responded in reaction to some of the comments on this topic, where posters have blamed the parents for remaining in Port Pirie and not those responsible for the pollution.

And, perhaps, Mr Miller should consider himself most fortunate that he has, apparently not suffered any of the potential hazards that living with lead poisoning and other pollutants can bring. Mr Miller would appear to have the type of amazing luck that some tobacco smokers do and able to smoke to a healthy old age. Not so, my mother who left Pire in her 20's nor her sister who remained there all her life (neither of whom were smokers BTW). Both died as a result of the slow death of scleroderma - an unusual and rare disease - particularly that 2 members of a family should succumb to the same illness.

When I recounted these events I was subjected to some abuse regarding the irresponsibility of my relatives who still live in Port Pirie. I cannot say for sure if this is what inflamed Mr Miller's ire or whether because he is fit and well, he believes that no one else in the Pirie community could possibly have been poisoned by the high levels of toxins in the air, the soil; everywhere children play.

Therefore, I would second Mr McInnes' request and ask that Mr Miller consider what he can do for his community.

Dianna regarding your concerns.

Critics should consider that any poster blaming the parents for remaining in Port Pirie are a distraction from the fact that even though children are born with relatively low blood-lead levels (predominantly well below 5 µg/dL) research by Dr Bruce Lanphear shows that the brain damage is already established in utero before birth. Can any parent therefore be held accountable for remaining in Port Pirie when they have not understood the gravity of their unborn childs situation, I don't think so.

My understanding is that the lead mimics neuronal calcium neurotransmitters causing damage to the neuronal pathways hence impaired cognitive dysfunction to varying levels depending on the level of lead insult. Lead in the mothers blood is circulated into the fetus and so the cycle continues to the next generation.

The problem then, is not that people do not leave Port Pirie, it is the fact that even the unborn fetus is getting "leaded" without having a say in its fate. What responsibility then lies with the Government to ensure no Port Pirie mother has her 9month gestational period in that environment and that children up to the age of 6 do not live in that environment as that age group is the most susceptible? What responsibility do parents have to get educated on this problem and address it rather than become offended?

Further, any poster which blames the toxic level of household lead on any mothers lack of hygiene are also an unnecessary distraction from the truth that fine particulate lead dust cannot be vacuumed up and be completely removed. The more it is vacuumed the finer the particles coming out of the vacuum dust filter and the greater the chance of lead absorption of micron size lead particulate becomes.

No Port Pirie mother is responsible for being unable to remove the toxic lead dust entirely from the household or from being unable to stop it covering the carpets, floors, cupboards, beds, cots, garden, eating utensiles cups, saucers plates etc, and every aspect of the home environment, after which their newborn babies ingest, inhale and absorb more lead into their bloodstream particularly up to the age of 6.

Further increases in a childs blood lead levels post birth are therefore inevitable in Port Pirie. The problem is preventable but how to institute the remedy is the problem when community denial and indignation is rampant. There is a way to solve the problem without losing jobs and shutting Port Pirie down but who is going to discuss and get to it?

Without instituting a solution to go forward then how do families protect their children when the toxic heavy metal pervades everything everywhere? What is the solution?

To get to it, first the people of the Port Pirie community have to come to terms with what they have unwittingly been served up by others over a period of almost a hundred years. They have to stop becoming offended by the truth, and collectively become proactive in addressing the problem focused on a solution, if not to protect those children already affected, but to stop it happening to future generations of their children and grandchildren.

William,

I'm sorry but I cannot agree with your view.

You say: "Can any parent therefore be held accountable for remaining in Port Pirie when they have not understood the gravity of their unborn childs situation, I don't think so."

Now who in Port Pirie has not heard about lead and what it does? Seriously?
This is not ignorance here William, this is self-interest - this is making a quid "and the outsider hippie lead-panic- merchants in white coats can go whistle. We don't believe it! We don't care! A postcoded denialism.

You are correct of course when you point out that the locals victims of poisoning that they have unwittingly been served up by others over a period of almost a hundred years. But not since the 1970's William when alarm bells and research began to be publicly discussed.

Where I grew up, we were protesting about the Sulphide Corporation at Cockle Creek in the 1970s. The locals were advised by authorities not to eat the vegetables they grew - especially carrots for some reason. They are now removing the hillside from which the plant spewed lead and worse onto its workers, their kids and into Lake Macquarie via Cockle Creek. No sign of the plant will remain - not visibly anyway.

Mothers do this in utero?

What a strange species we are.

So, Rob Brooks! What sort of "evolutionary enhancement" sees us risk impairing our offspring? A conscious trade-off between us and them. What happened to the selfish gene - or is this the ultimate in selfish genes at work?

Why do we tolerate this slow moving Bhopal in Australia?