I had been given the names of two Queensland Health employees to contact by Robbie Katter since they had been involved in the “efforts” to reduce lead exposure in Mt Isa since 2006. When I contacted them, one of them responded, one didn’t. When I pointed out that nothing was being done to treat children with raised blood levels in Queensland, aside from “emergency” treatment of seriously raised blood lead levels (at or above 45ug/dl), the justification I was handed for doing nothing was a couple of clinical studies which indicated that chelation treatment failed to reduce symptoms of neurological damage, while not reducing blood lead levels below 15ug/dl in the chelation-treated children.

My reaction was to point out that the available current literature indicated significant neurological effects in the range 5-10 ug/dl so unless blood lead levels are depleted to below 5ug/dl, you are simply not hitting the target.

In any event, the justification for Queensland Health doing nothing was basically why bother because we wouldn’t achieve anything useful.

I wonder how parents with lead affected children would feel about that?

Take the time to listen to this a 2012 ABC News podcast (https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/backgroundbriefing/4408246) which talks about the renovation of flooded older houses, and painters and people and children who were exposed to lead paint. It doesn’t do any credit to Queensland Health.

I’ll probably add more to this blog post, but I’m still digesting a beautiful piece of spin-doctoring from the Queensland Premier’s office.