Press Release – Master Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers NZ Master Plumbers welcomes todays recommendation by the Ministry of Health to review current plumbing standards with regards to allowable lead levels in imported tapware and fittings. The recommendation forms part of the Ministrys review of the health …
Master Plumbers welcomes today’s recommendation by the Ministry of Health to review current plumbing standards with regards to allowable lead levels in imported tapware and fittings.
The recommendation forms part of the Ministry’s review of the health system response to the lead contamination in Waikouaiti’s drinking water supply.
“Whilst the recommendation is a good one, New Zealand needs to move to lead-free tapware and brass fittings as a matter of urgency,” says Master Plumbers CEO Greg Wallace.
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Review of health response to lead contamination put community first
A review into the health system response to lead contamination in Waikouaiti’s drinking water supply has found that the sector focused on reducing the risk to the community’s health first.
“I commissioned Dr Heather Uwins-England and Dr Jill McKenzie to conduct a rapid review into the health sector response to elevated lead levels in the Waikouaiti drinking-water supply,” Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.
“They have provided an independent lens over the health response, engaging with the various local and central government health agencies involved to examine the processes taken to reduce risk to health and wellbeing.
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The review confirmed health authorities were not alerted to several concerning lead levels in East Otago s water supply last year.
A report assessing the health response has been released today. It is quite clear from this event that reporting of exceedances of [acceptable lead levels] by both the [Dunedin City] Council and the laboratory hindered the timeliness of the health response, the report said.
While Public Health South was alerted to the 31 July 2020 spike in lead levels, they were not informed of several others until January this year.
The Ministry of Health did not learn of the concerning lead levels until 31 January, the Dunedin City Council s chief executive Sandy Graham was not informed until 1 February and Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins only learned of the problem in the hours before the do not drink notice was issued on 2 February.
Press Release – Science Media Centre A review has identified areas to improve after a recent scare over lead in drinking water near Dunedin. The recommendations include improvements to reporting contaminant levels, tightening up how quickly adverse findings are reported, and reviewing standards …
A review has identified areas to improve after a recent scare over lead in drinking water near Dunedin.
The recommendations include improvements to reporting contaminant levels, tightening up how quickly adverse findings are reported, and reviewing standards for imported plumbing to ensure it doesn’t cause high lead exposure.
The SMC asked experts to comment.
Professor Sally Gaw, Director of Environmental Science, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of Canterbury, comments: