Health

Being Lead Astray

By Penny Finlay

Workers in a range of occupations are exposed to lead and are not being made aware of the hazards

An estimated 180,000 workers in NSW may be exposed to lead every day. Many workers associate lead risk jobs with industries such as lead mining and smelting. But workers in a range of occupations are exposed to lead and are not being made aware of the hazards.

There are many other jobs not previously considered lead risk which can expose workers to lead, including automotive body or radiator repair, building, construction and demolition, refinery or service stations, metal industries and professional and amateur rifle ranges - and maintenance workers or cleaners in any of these industries.

Recently in NSW, workers who would not have considered themselves lead workers were poisoned by exposure to lead over a very short period of time. A number of NSW Police Service weapons instructors including a pregnant officer, were 3-7 times above the National Goal for all Australians of 10 ug/dL. These workers never thought of themselves as lead workers.

This situation could have been avoided if an understanding of the uses and hazards of lead were well recognised in the workplace. In industries where there is little or no regulation of occupational health and safety, for example the building and construction industry, the above scenario may well be repeated. What's worse it may not and workers without knowing it, will accumulate lead in their bodies and pass it onto their families.

Employers have a duty of care under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 1983 to provide a safe and healthy working environment. Any material containing more than 1% lead is a 'designated hazardous substance' in NSW. The OHS (Hazardous Substances) Regulation and Code of Practice 1996 requires occupational lead hazards to be controlled. The Waste Minimisation and Management Regulation 1996 and Dangerous Goods Regulation 1998 specify required labelling, storage, transport and disposal of lead materials and waste. Worksafe Australia has developed an excellent Standard and Code of Practice: Control of Inorganic Lead at Work NOHSC 1012 & 2015 (1994). Unfortunately, this Standard is not currently enacted in NSW.

There are changes in the international recognition of harmful effects of lower lead levels on health in children and adults. It has been known for over a century that exposure to lead can cause serious long term health effects. We used to only be concerned when workers keeled over in the street from lead poisoning in the mines. Now we are aware of health effects long before this stage but we are also using lead in many more products. While all people are at risk, unborn children, pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of lead.

The health effects of lead are:

� Lead is a poison and can affect almost every part of the body yet symptoms may not occur until high lead levels are reached.

� Low levels of exposure can cause joint and muscle pain, high blood pressure and memory loss.

� At higher lead levels lead exposure can damage fertility especially in men and can damage major organs and can cause nerve and blood problems.

� Very high levels of lead can cause fits, coma and, in extreme cases, death.

� The body can get rid of only small amounts of lead each day. If more lead is entering the body than can be removed, it can build up over time causing health problems.

Lead gets into the body by:

� Breathing in dust and fumes. This is the main way lead enters a worker's body.

� Eating contaminated food and drink can occur if workers don't wash their hands before meals and eat in workplaces where lead dust is present.

� Absorption through the skin can happen where leaded petrol or lubricants are handled without gloves or barrier cream.

Many people assume that we have dealt with the hazards of lead with the gradual removal of lead in petrol and lead in domestic paint. However lead ore production levels are increasing demonstrating that this is not a product of the past. Lead is used in batteries, in industrial paints and coatings, in plastics and in a range of other products. Workers are involved in the production and usage of these products and mostly are not aware of the hazards.

This is an important health issue that we seem to regularly forget about. One hundred years ago, Queensland doctors were the first in the world to identify the issue of lead poisoning of children from paint on verandahs. In the early 1990s it was the death of dogs in Broken Hill that triggered the screening of the town's children and the subsequent program.

In the process of looking for statistics on child health, significant numbers of adults (workers) have been found to be lead poisoned. We need to take action to ensure that people are aware and don't forget about this issue. Mary Jaeger (ph.9264 1691) will coordinate a meeting at Labor Council to further this issue for workers.

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  Issue 15 contents

»	Labor Council Unveils New Public Face
»	Revealed: New, Meaner Breed of Body Hire
»	Unions Wins Own Safety Prosecution
»	Timor Protest Calls for UN Troops
»	Pay Equity Jitters as Report Gathers Dust
»	Paid Maternity Leave: One Step Forward - One Step Back
»	Court Victory for PNG Workers
»	First For Union With Multicultural Arts Grant
»	Cleaners Clean Up In Backpay Bonanza
»	Unions Join Sorry Ceremony

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Concern at Timor Attitudes

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