But, despite his mum's diligent precautions, Macen's blood lead levels are still too high. "There's no way his lead levels should be like this," Karen, a mother-of-four, told NCA NewsWire. Port Pirie is so polluted with toxic lead parents don't take kids out on windy days and change their clothes once inside - but even that's not enough. Over that time, significant progress has been made – but as lead levels have dropped, so too have the benchmarks considered acceptable. "Nyrstar remains committed to working with a range of government and community stakeholders to improve health outcomes in Port Pirie," the statement said.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 23, 2021 21:11 UTC