Lead Contamination at Ten Broken Hill Childcare Centers Exceeds Limits by Tenfold; NSW EPA Did Not Directly Inform Parents Over Ten Years

Between 2015 and 2025, the NSW Environment Protection Authority conducted multiple soil tests at all 13 childcare centers in the city of Broken Hill. The results showed that 10 of them had lead levels exceeding the national guideline value of 300 milligrams per kilogram, with some sites reaching pollution levels ten times the safety limit. However, the agency never directly communicated these test results to parents, instead placing the responsibility for notification on childcare operators.

According to ABC News reporting, of the 10 childcare centers with exceedances, only 4 chose to accept the EPA's recommendation to carry out remediation. In response to questioning, an EPA spokesperson said the agency "provided test results to the site owners of all facilities and, where necessary, advised on management or remediation measures." "It is standard procedure, for privacy reasons, for the education provider operator to communicate directly with parents and families," the spokesperson said.

This handling sparked questioning in the state parliament. Greens MP and mining affairs spokesperson Cate Faehrmann directly challenged the EPA's logic in her remarks: "How can our EPA, upon learning that lead levels in childcare center soil exceeded the safety standard by tenfold, do nothing more than inform the operator?" She called for a full investigation into the agency's testing procedures in Broken Hill and pointed out that this approach exposed systemic neglect of remote mining communities.

Even more striking was the response from the state's top health official. NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed that the state Health Department was not aware of the relevant test results. "We should have been informed of this; I will be paying close attention to this issue," Dr. Chant said. "We had no knowledge of the childcare center test results. I read about it in the newspaper."

However, the EPA denied the allegations of concealment. An agency spokesperson said it had communicated the situation to relevant departments, including the state Health Department, through the "Broken Hill interagency working group." The discrepancy between the two accounts remains independently unresolved.

Broken Hill Mayor Tom Kennedy acknowledged in an interview with ABC News that soil lead levels at virtually all residences in the city could exceed the standard. He noted that backyard contamination to which children are exposed after returning home from childcare could be even more severe. "Children who attend those childcare centers go home to yards where soil lead levels may far exceed those of the childcare centers themselves," Kennedy said. But he also said he did "not want people to panic as a result."

Broken Hill's lead contamination is deeply intertwined with the city's mining history spanning more than a century. According to guidance from the NSW Health Department and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, lead exposure can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, developmental delays or abnormalities, poor motor coordination, and hearing problems. Children under five are particularly vulnerable because their brains are still developing, they are more likely to put hands or objects in their mouths, and their bodies absorb lead at higher rates than adults.

Faehrmann believes Broken Hill is facing a public health crisis and has hinted at a clear double standard in the state government's handling of the matter. "I cannot imagine another situation — say, in Sydney's eastern suburbs — where they would just sit on this," she said.

As of now, the NSW Environment Protection Authority has not explained why no public warning aimed at affected families was issued over the ten-year period, nor has it offered further clarification regarding the apparent contradiction between its account of communication with the Health Department and the Chief Health Officer's own statement.