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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jun/02/water-heavy-metal-contamination-near-cadia-hill-nsw-goldmine
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| Something in the water: heavy metal contamination near NSW goldmine has health experts worried | Something in the water: heavy metal contamination near NSW goldmine has health experts worried |
| (2 months later) | |
| Residents’ blood tests and samples from rainwater tanks near Cadia Hill point to ‘one of the most serious’ cases of pollution one researcher has seen in 30 years | Residents’ blood tests and samples from rainwater tanks near Cadia Hill point to ‘one of the most serious’ cases of pollution one researcher has seen in 30 years |
| When Kaitlyn “KJ” Riles’ father called her from the roof of their family home near Forest Reefs in central-west New South Wales, she knew something was wrong. | When Kaitlyn “KJ” Riles’ father called her from the roof of their family home near Forest Reefs in central-west New South Wales, she knew something was wrong. |
| From the rooftop, you can see her parents’ vegetable garden, orchard, rainwater tanks and cattle grazing in a nearby paddock. Beyond their fence line, less than 10km away, is the Cadia Hill goldmine. | From the rooftop, you can see her parents’ vegetable garden, orchard, rainwater tanks and cattle grazing in a nearby paddock. Beyond their fence line, less than 10km away, is the Cadia Hill goldmine. |
| The potential environmental and health impacts from the goldmine – the second largest in the world – was an ongoing conversation in the family but remained hypothetical. | The potential environmental and health impacts from the goldmine – the second largest in the world – was an ongoing conversation in the family but remained hypothetical. |
| That changed last week when the NSW Environment Protection Authority announced an investigation into the mine after dozens of local residents reported blood test results containing high levels of some heavy metals, including copper. It followed months of testing that found other heavy metals, including lead, in unsafe levels in household rainwater tanks. Lead has not been listed in any publicly reported blood tests. | That changed last week when the NSW Environment Protection Authority announced an investigation into the mine after dozens of local residents reported blood test results containing high levels of some heavy metals, including copper. It followed months of testing that found other heavy metals, including lead, in unsafe levels in household rainwater tanks. Lead has not been listed in any publicly reported blood tests. |
| The EPA held an information session in nearby Millthorpe, which KJ’s father, Stuart Riles, attended. As soon as he got home from the community session he climbed on to the roof and began cleaning his gutters, worried that dust from the mine may have landed there. He says he is now concerned about the lifelong health implications for his family, including his six-month-old granddaughter, Acacia. | The EPA held an information session in nearby Millthorpe, which KJ’s father, Stuart Riles, attended. As soon as he got home from the community session he climbed on to the roof and began cleaning his gutters, worried that dust from the mine may have landed there. He says he is now concerned about the lifelong health implications for his family, including his six-month-old granddaughter, Acacia. |
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| “Kaitlyn … was living here for a big part of her pregnancy, and then for four months, Acacia lived here as a newborn,” he says. | “Kaitlyn … was living here for a big part of her pregnancy, and then for four months, Acacia lived here as a newborn,” he says. |
| “Down the track, if [Acacia] has any health problems, any neurological issues, any learning or behavioural issues into the future, you’re always going to wonder if it was linked to that time when she lived here at Forest Reefs, a couple of kilometres from Cadia mine.” | “Down the track, if [Acacia] has any health problems, any neurological issues, any learning or behavioural issues into the future, you’re always going to wonder if it was linked to that time when she lived here at Forest Reefs, a couple of kilometres from Cadia mine.” |
| He is now planning to get his blood and drinking water tested after learning tests of his neighbour’s rainwater showed high levels of heavy metals, particularly lead. | He is now planning to get his blood and drinking water tested after learning tests of his neighbour’s rainwater showed high levels of heavy metals, particularly lead. |
| An estimated 1,000 people who live within the 15km radius of the mine and rely on rainwater for drinking could have heavy metals in their water supply. At this stage there is no confirmation that the heavy metal contamination has come from the mine. | An estimated 1,000 people who live within the 15km radius of the mine and rely on rainwater for drinking could have heavy metals in their water supply. At this stage there is no confirmation that the heavy metal contamination has come from the mine. |
| The NSW EPA issued Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings mine a pollution prevention notice on Tuesday regarding its management of “emissions of dust and other pollutants”, which it says will form part of its ongoing investigation. The EPA also issued Newcrest a draft licence variation calling for the finalisation of an independent health risk assessment by NSW Health, and for the mine to engage a specialist to identify the source of the lead found in the sludge at the bottom of nearby rainwater tanks. | The NSW EPA issued Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings mine a pollution prevention notice on Tuesday regarding its management of “emissions of dust and other pollutants”, which it says will form part of its ongoing investigation. The EPA also issued Newcrest a draft licence variation calling for the finalisation of an independent health risk assessment by NSW Health, and for the mine to engage a specialist to identify the source of the lead found in the sludge at the bottom of nearby rainwater tanks. |
| Newcrest said it had been implementing the actions from the EPA’s prevention notice, some of which were already under way, and that there was “nothing that we value more than people’s health and safety”. | Newcrest said it had been implementing the actions from the EPA’s prevention notice, some of which were already under way, and that there was “nothing that we value more than people’s health and safety”. |
| “We will continue to work constructively with the EPA and local residents in a transparent and factual manner,” a spokesperson said. “We do not compromise on people’s health and safety and remain firmly committed to meeting all our obligations in a way that is aligned with our values.” | “We will continue to work constructively with the EPA and local residents in a transparent and factual manner,” a spokesperson said. “We do not compromise on people’s health and safety and remain firmly committed to meeting all our obligations in a way that is aligned with our values.” |
| ‘The results were really confronting’ | ‘The results were really confronting’ |
| Dr Ian Wright, an academic at Western Sydney University, found himself at the centre of concerns about heavy metal dust pollution a year ago, when he was studying the platypus population in the Belubula River. | Dr Ian Wright, an academic at Western Sydney University, found himself at the centre of concerns about heavy metal dust pollution a year ago, when he was studying the platypus population in the Belubula River. |
| It was during a conversation with a local grazier whose property was close to the mine that Wright says he made an “offhand comment” about the noticeable dust. He suggested that the dust appeared to be coming from the mine. “It’s a metal mine,” he said. “I’m looking at your roof. You drink the rainwater from that, do you? Yes. What’s in there?” | It was during a conversation with a local grazier whose property was close to the mine that Wright says he made an “offhand comment” about the noticeable dust. He suggested that the dust appeared to be coming from the mine. “It’s a metal mine,” he said. “I’m looking at your roof. You drink the rainwater from that, do you? Yes. What’s in there?” |
| Wright says he listened to concerns from a number of community members, led by the Cadia Community Sustainability Network, and encouraged them to send him samples from their household water supply. | Wright says he listened to concerns from a number of community members, led by the Cadia Community Sustainability Network, and encouraged them to send him samples from their household water supply. |
| “The results were really confronting and it was like a snowball rolling down the hill,” he says. “Our concerns grew and grew and grew and the story kept getting bigger and more complex. And from my point of view it also got quite scary.” | “The results were really confronting and it was like a snowball rolling down the hill,” he says. “Our concerns grew and grew and grew and the story kept getting bigger and more complex. And from my point of view it also got quite scary.” |
| Wright, who has been involved in at least 15 court cases regarding water pollution associated with mining, says this is “one of the most serious things” he has seen in his three and a half decades in this field. | Wright, who has been involved in at least 15 court cases regarding water pollution associated with mining, says this is “one of the most serious things” he has seen in his three and a half decades in this field. |
| The community has conducted five rounds of testing in an independent laboratory as part of a citizen survey. In March NSW Health and Newcrest conducted their own testing. The results of those tests have not been released. Newcrest said at the time that the results did “not appear to correlate” with their own monitoring data but offered to provide free drinking water. | The community has conducted five rounds of testing in an independent laboratory as part of a citizen survey. In March NSW Health and Newcrest conducted their own testing. The results of those tests have not been released. Newcrest said at the time that the results did “not appear to correlate” with their own monitoring data but offered to provide free drinking water. |
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| Wright says community members were “incredibly frustrated” by a lack of responsiveness by the EPA, which he says received a number of letters about the issue before the investigation was announced. | Wright says community members were “incredibly frustrated” by a lack of responsiveness by the EPA, which he says received a number of letters about the issue before the investigation was announced. |
| Concerns escalated when people began asking their local GP to test their blood for heavy metals. The NSW EPA chief executive, Tony Chappel, says more than 40 individuals have had their blood tested. The EPA held a meeting with community members two weeks ago. | Concerns escalated when people began asking their local GP to test their blood for heavy metals. The NSW EPA chief executive, Tony Chappel, says more than 40 individuals have had their blood tested. The EPA held a meeting with community members two weeks ago. |
| Another community meeting is scheduled for next week and residents have been told they can have an air monitor installed, which will feed data on dust back to the EPA. | Another community meeting is scheduled for next week and residents have been told they can have an air monitor installed, which will feed data on dust back to the EPA. |
| Chappel says he had “very serious concerns” as soon as the community shared their story. | Chappel says he had “very serious concerns” as soon as the community shared their story. |
| “I absolutely accept that the community’s been frustrated,” he says, adding that the EPA had been “engaging with part of the problem, but maybe not the entire problem”. | “I absolutely accept that the community’s been frustrated,” he says, adding that the EPA had been “engaging with part of the problem, but maybe not the entire problem”. |
| “The government as a whole, and the company as well, hadn’t been adequately engaging with the concerns, and there was an absolutely understandable basis for how serious the concerns were,” he says. | “The government as a whole, and the company as well, hadn’t been adequately engaging with the concerns, and there was an absolutely understandable basis for how serious the concerns were,” he says. |
| Cadia’s acting general manager, Mick Dewar, says the company takes its environmental obligations and concerns raised by “some members of the local community” seriously. | Cadia’s acting general manager, Mick Dewar, says the company takes its environmental obligations and concerns raised by “some members of the local community” seriously. |
| “As a longstanding member of the local community, with many of our workforce also local residents, we see ourselves very much part of this community,” he says. | “As a longstanding member of the local community, with many of our workforce also local residents, we see ourselves very much part of this community,” he says. |
| “Nothing is more important than people’s health and safety, and we remain firmly committed to making sure that we meet all of our statutory obligations and do it in a way that is aligned with our values.” | “Nothing is more important than people’s health and safety, and we remain firmly committed to making sure that we meet all of our statutory obligations and do it in a way that is aligned with our values.” |
| ‘I feel pretty angry’ | ‘I feel pretty angry’ |
| KJ now lives in Tasmania but is planning to get her blood tested. | KJ now lives in Tasmania but is planning to get her blood tested. |
| “I’ve been drinking that water for my entire life,” the 28-year-old says. “I was born there, I grew up there and I had Acacia there for the first few months of her life as well.” | “I’ve been drinking that water for my entire life,” the 28-year-old says. “I was born there, I grew up there and I had Acacia there for the first few months of her life as well.” |
| She says the thought of any harm coming to her daughter is “terrifying”. She is also angry on behalf of her family, who she says have tried to live sustainably. | She says the thought of any harm coming to her daughter is “terrifying”. She is also angry on behalf of her family, who she says have tried to live sustainably. |
| “I feel pretty angry for our community, really,” she says. “I just don’t think we’re going to know the subsequent effects on our environment … “There’s more people – us, families, farmers – people who are starting to become aware of this [and] that we keep the mine accountable.” | “I feel pretty angry for our community, really,” she says. “I just don’t think we’re going to know the subsequent effects on our environment … “There’s more people – us, families, farmers – people who are starting to become aware of this [and] that we keep the mine accountable.” |
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