❓ A WA parliamentary question seeks clarification on lead contamination at Perth Children's Hospital (PCH), specifically regarding water testing dates, locations, results, and communication with relevant bodies. The Minister deflects most questions to another QoN and clarifies a Building Commission report.
AnsweredQoN 4400Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer to the answer to Question on Notice No. 4078 and in particular to the 10 October 2016 joint Contentious Issues Briefing note (4-102282) from Treasury and the Department of Health (DOH) in relation to elevated levels of lead in the Perth Children's Hospital (PCH), and ask: (a) given that the briefing note states in dot point 2 that "All water entering PCH is lead free" , can the Minister advise on what dates the testing was undertaken to make this determination, at what locations was testing undertaken, who authorised the testing, who undertook the testing and what were the results; (b) given that the briefing note also states in dot point 8 that "Water sampling results from the Water Corporation mains supply and the DOH Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre ring mains supply to PCH show no lead detection" what were the results of this testing, including test locations, sample sizes, who undertook the testing and which organisations were advised of the results.; (c) given that the briefing note states further in dot point 17 that "Both the Building Commission and the EHD are being provided with test results and related reports from all sources" , at what date or dates was the Building Commission and Environmental Health Division (EHD) given all the test results undertaken as mentioned in (a) and (b); (d) when was the Minister first made aware of elevated lead levels in the PCH and further, that all water entering PCH was lead free and was the Minister also provided with the actual water test results to confirm this advice; and (e) can the Minister confirm that a 2018 Building Commission report, on construction issues at the PCH, did not rule out that one possible cause, or contributing factor, of elevated lead levels in some areas of the PCH was influx of contaminants from the nearby "dead-leg" when water first flowed into the new hospital?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
20 February 2019
Responded by
Minister for Commerce
Response time
6 days
(a) - (d) Please refer to Legislative Assembely Question on Notice 4403.
(e) The Building Commission did not publish a report on construction issues at the PCH in 2018. The Final Report – Perth Children’s Hospital Audit (the Report) issued by the Building Commission on 24 April 2017, identified four potential sources of lead contamination but not the contribution, if any, of each source to the lead detected at PCH (paragraph 1.2 of the Report).
(e) The Building Commission did not publish a report on construction issues at the PCH in 2018. The Final Report – Perth Children’s Hospital Audit (the Report) issued by the Building Commission on 24 April 2017, identified four potential sources of lead contamination but not the contribution, if any, of each source to the lead detected at PCH (paragraph 1.2 of the Report).
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