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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (17615)	4/11/2008 9:21:17 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 193918

Xstrata may face legal action over lead news.theage.com.au April 11, 2008 - 3:58PM Global mining giant Xstrata may face a string of lawsuits after a six-year-old Queensland girl was found to have a "cocktail of metals" in her system, including toxic levels of lead. The north-west Queensland city of Mount Isa, where Xstrata mines, is built directly on an ore body. The Swiss-based company has said it constantly monitored its emissions for signs of pollution. But some parents of young children remain unconvinced that Mount Isa has safe lead levels for children. Daphne Hare, the mother of six-year-old Stella Hare, said a toxicology report received last week showed that her daughter, who has behavioural and learning difficulties and had a melanoma removed this year, not only had high lead levels, but high levels of 10 other metals. Lawyer Damien Scattini, of Slater and Gordon, said Stella and other children like her needed urgent treatment to remove a "cocktail of metals" from their bodies. "It's not a new issue for them but the awful truth (of the blood tests) probably is a new issue," Mr Scattini told AAP. "It's one of those things that's probably easy to put out of your mind because it's insidious, you don't see lead poisoning ... you don't see the level of aluminium in your blood rising." A Queensland Health study, due for release next month, was expected to show that at least 45 Mount Isa children had lead levels that could impair their behavioural and intellectual development. Queensland Health ordered the report in late 2006 and has since conducted blood tests on more than 400 children. Acting Premier Paul Lucas said the government took the issue very seriously and the health report would be issued soon. "At the present time I understand Xstrata are operating under the limits prescribed under their Act, but what the state government is doing is bringing them under the general legislation," Mr Lucas said. "We are doing the health investigation and it is very, very important in the community to have access to that information." The report is expected to show dangerously high levels of lead in more than 10 per cent of children living in the town, where mining giant Xstrata took over lead, copper and zinc mining operations from MIM Holdings in 2003. Xstrata said it was not aware of any legal action. Xstrata's copper north Queensland chief operating officer Steve de Kruijff said the company took the issue of "lead management" very seriously and was working closely with the community and authorities. He said the Queensland Health report would identify the priorities of any further action. Xstrata monitored its emissions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and reported the results regularly, he said. "The reality is that lead is literally part of the foundations of our community, and we all have a responsibility to ensure we manage our exposure," Mr de Kruijff said in a statement.