NSW Health continues to use machine known to produce inaccurate results to test child blood lead levels

Blood testing is offered voluntarily for families with children under five in Broken Hill, where past and current mining has led to contamination. Photograph: Damian Bennett/Destination NSW

Ella’s* 16-month-old daughter returned a blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms of lead per decilitre (3.5μg/dL) when she was tested last week.

That’s under the five micrograms the Australian guidelines consider the investigation threshold – the level at which a child’s blood test result should trigger a health response – but Ella is not reassured.