Petición dirigida a: Building Ministers in each State & Parliament of Australia
The Australian Building Codes Board has extended the adoption of lead free products mandated for use in plumbing systems for drinking water for another 2 years which will allow suppliers, merchants and international manufacturers to dump high lead level products into the Australian market which will remain installed in drinking water systems indefinitely.
The Australian Building Codes Board own Final Regulatory Impact Study sets out the risk to children as follows:
“Children are particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of lead and even low levels of exposure can cause serious and, in some cases, irreversible neurological damage. The potential for adverse effects of lead exposure is greater for children than for adults because the intake of lead per unit of body weight is higher, lead absorption in the gastrointestinal tract is higher, the blood-brain barrier is not yet fully developed and neurological effects occur at lower levels than in adults.”
As you are probably aware the industry's endeavours to adopt the Lead Free drinking water products in Victoria was ultimately successful. Unfortunately, not all States and Territories followed Victoria's example.
