NSW EPA launches investigation into Cadia goldmine after blood tests show metal contamination

Tony Chappel, the NSW EPA chief executive, said industry had strict obligations to meet clean air standards and ‘currently Cadia appears to be falling well short of our expectations’. Photograph: Newcrest Mining

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority has launched an investigation into Cadia goldmine near Orange after local residents, including children, reported blood tests with high levels of selenium, nickel and copper.

In a statement, the EPA said Newcrest’s Cadia Holdings Pty Ltd was issued on Friday with a draft pollution prevention notice and a draft licence variation regarding the management of emissions of dust and other pollutants at the central west goldmine.