Wearing a respirator can help reduce lead contamination risks if you're working on an old house or boat. Photo / Getty Images
Wearing a respirator can help reduce lead contamination risks if you're working on an old house or boat. Photo / Getty Images
People making their own bullets and fishing sinkers and working on older home do-ups are potentially risking lead contamination.
In the US this week, environmental groups called on authorities to protect the public from the release of lead in cables which telecom companies have abandoned.
Similar cables exist in NewZealand but an independent expert said the major lead exposure risk most Kiwis faced was from working on older houses with lead-based paint.
In extreme cases, lead exposure could lead to aneurysms and other health problems.
Many paints sold until 1965 had high lead levels and many buildings constructed as late as the 1980s were coated with lead-based paint.
Liam Kelly of Environmental Health Intelligence NZ said lead poisonings were rare in New Zealand but people working on older properties without respirators could be putting themselves at risk.
And he said some farmers who liked to make bullets at home for pest control or hunting could be risking lead contamination.
Lead sinkers at some supermarkets cost anywhere from $7 for a dozen to $12 for four.
Some fishermen preferred to make their own. But doing so could risk contamination, Kelly said.
Health risks from lead contamination varied.
“It really depends on how much you’re exposed to lead. The normal issues that we see are things like tiredness and anaemia and low-level issues like that.”
People who like to make their own lead sinkers for fishing can risk getting contaminated. Photo / Dean Purcell
But Kelly said in extreme cases, severe brain damage could result.
He said about half of known lead exposure cases in New Zealand were from lead-based paint.
Kelly said regulation on lead-based paints was minimal until the 1970s.
Painters, other tradies, and DIY fans working on such houses and old boats should use respirators because paint flaking off could be inhaled.
Kelly said some paint sellers provided lead testing kits.
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand advised against abrasive blasting on structures built or painted before 1970 or on boats.
The health authority said people working on structures potentially containing lead-based paint should wash their hands before eating food or smoking, and change out of contaminated overalls when not working, especially if dry sanding.
Wearing a hat or covering one’s hair was advised, as was the use of a good quality, properly fitted toxic dust respirator.
A new Wall Street Journal investigation into US lead cables found lead levels near some children’s playgrounds many times greater than those recommended for safety.
New Zealand had a network of lead-covered telecommunication cables but telco infrastructure firm Chorus said removing cables would likely cause more environmental and health risks than leaving them alone.
Chorus says much of the old cable shielding in New Zealand breaks down harmlessly. Photo / Sarah Ivey
Chorus said it knew of a copper network comprising about 11,000km of lead-sheathed cables in New Zealand.
Almost 5000km of these cables were “safely encased in ducts”, a Chorus spokesman said.
“The ducts allow us to effectively remove and recycle the cables once they have outlived their usefulness.”
New Zealand also had some cables directly buried without a duct and likely to be non-recoverable.
“Until the 1970s, these cables likely had lead sheathing, bituminised hessian, and a steel wrap to reinforce and shield the cable,” Chorus added.
“The environmental impact of attempting to recover these cables - the majority of which breaks down harmlessly - is more significant than the benefit of removing the cable from the ground.”
Kelly said research on the cables in New Zealand had not been comprehensive but he was unaware of the cables being linked to poisoning or exposure risks.
Chorus said it capped its investment in copper feeder cables in the mid-1990s.
Since the 1940s, copper feeder cables have been ducted, and these cables were recoverable.
Chorus said it proposed to recover and recycle copper cables in ducts with 200-plus copper pairs through a waste recovery programme.
“This recycling won’t happen in the early stages of copper withdrawal as it is not cost-effective, with services still live on the cables.”
John Weekes is online business editor. He has covered courts, crime, politics and consumer affairs. He rejoined the Herald in 2020, previously working at Stuff and News Regional, Australia.
