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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Calla Wahlquist

Community-led rainwater testing near Orange finds one in three tanks have unsafe lead levels

A cup of water drawn from a faucet
Water samples from central-western NSW rainwater tanks were analysed amid safety concerns and 27 indicated lead levels above national guidelines. Photograph: Rogelio V Solis/AP

More than a third of the water samples taken from rainwater tanks near Orange as part of a citizen survey and tested by an independent laboratory showed lead results above the safe levels in the Australian drinking water guidelines.

Those results are now being re-tested by New South Wales Health in an effort to determine if there is a broader public health risk. NSW Health has not provided any updates about those test results or said whether they confirm the results of the initial testing.

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