Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 4403

❓ A parliamentary question regarding lead levels in the Perth Children's Hospital water supply, seeking details on testing dates, locations, authorisation, results, and communication with relevant bodies. The Treasurer provides some answers, referring to a tabled paper and redirecting one question.

AnsweredQoN 4403Legislative Assembly

Asked

28 November 2018

Member

Mr W.R. Marmion

Portfolio

Treasurer; Minister for Finance; Energy; Aboriginal Affairs

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 Treasurer 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 Treasurer first advised that there was elevated lead levels in the water at PCH and when was he first advised that all water entering the PCH was lead free and did this latter advice include the testing results to verify this conclusion; and (e) can the Treasurer 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

12 February 2019

Response time

2 days

(a)   [See tabled paper No.]
(b)   Refer to locations titled “Water Corp Incoming Northern”, “Monash Avenue Water Meter” and “Incoming Feed – Monitor Board and Pre-AMIAD Filters” in the tabled paper.
Tests results were provided to the Environmental Health Directorate; the Building Commission; North Metropolitan Health Services; Norman Disney Young; and Jacobs.
(c)   Building Commission:
Environmental Health Directorate:
(d) 5 September 2016 and 10 October 2016, respectively. Test results were not included in the advice.
(e) This question should be directed to the Minister for Commerce.

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