LEAD LEVELS

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:03): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Environment a question about lead levels.

Leave granted.

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK: I have been approached by a small business that is suffering the effects of pollution from a neighbouring and much larger firm. The owner has informed me that the EPA has conducted tests that show that lead levels are far above the allowable limits but the EPA has refused to give him a copy of that report. The business owner in question does not want to be named or have the location given, for fear that legal action will be taken against him. As members can appreciate, this is an extremely serious situation for the health of the employees of that business and other businesses in the area. My questions are:

1. Is the minister aware of air quality testing conducted by the EPA showing unacceptably high levels of lead in any location in metropolitan Adelaide?

2. Do third parties with a legitimate interest, such as businesses in the vicinity of a polluting neighbour, have a right to copies of the results of tests conducted by the EPA?

3. Does the business that is the likely source of the pollution have access to the results of tests conducted by the EPA?

4. Is it government policy not to provide the party affected, other than the polluter, with the results of tests conducted by the EPA?

5. Will the minister undertake to provide me with copies of any EPA air quality testing that shows high levels of lead and, when air quality tests show high lead levels, indicate what action would normally be taken?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister Assisting the Minister for Health) (15:05): I thank the honourable member for her important questions. The EPA is a regulatory body whose role it is to ensure that appropriate standards are upheld. There are standards in relation to a wide range of pollutants, and that includes lead, and I know there are some areas where lead monitoring is done constantly, such as around Port Pirie and such places. I am also aware that, if a complaint is made, the EPA would respond to that if it believes it is a legitimate complaint. It would monitor and assess the level of contamination and work with the business operator or whoever is the polluter to put in place a strategy and plan to ensure they address any practices leading to contamination to ensure that that business is operating in a safe way, with emissions at a safe level. There are laws in place that require adherence to that and, if companies breach them, fines can be put in place. I believe licences can be taken away from companies to the point where they are not able to operate, being the worst case scenario. There are also conditions the EPA can put in place as well. A wide range of actions can be taken.

The Hon. Sandra Kanck has not provided me with any details of this instance. She has raised it for the first time that I am aware of with me and my office today on the floor of the chamber. She could easily have come to my office and we could have looked at the details of that example and seen what we were able to do to assist her in helping this business owner. Anyway, she did not afford us the opportunity to do that. I am more than happy, if she wants to provide me with those details, to follow up that instance. The EPA has a legislative framework that it uses to regulate and enforce certain standards to ensure protection for the health and safety of people and the environment. More importantly, the EPA works cooperatively with businesses because voluntary compliance is a very important way forward. When businesses understand that they are causing problems, they work with the EPA to understand what levels they need to reach to ensure safety. We often find that businesses are prepared to go way beyond what is required by regulation and are prepared to do much more and put a wide range of things in place to improve the way they do business and to improve their emissions and the impact they have. The EPA tries to work not only with the big stick but also with the carrot to work cooperatively with businesses to maximise voluntary compliance.