Tasmanian lakes metal contamination among worst in the world

A study of metal contamination in south-west Tasmania by The ANU has found lakes in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) are contaminated with dangerous metals, and at levels among the highest in the world. ANU researchers studied airborne contamination for the first time in Tasmania and found metal contaminants travelled 130km down-wind of historical mining sites in Queenstown and Rosebery. In Tasmania, dangerous levels of lead, copper, arsenic and cadmium were found in all six lakes in the TWWHA region with some exceeding the highest allowable levels in sediment guidelines for Australia and New Zealand. Lead researcher Dr Larissa Schneider and Professor Simon Haberle from the Archaeology and Natural History program, said the high levels of metal concentrations may be cause for health concerns. "This is a very severe contamination and it's very likely that the health of the local biota; bacteria, algae, fish and other organisms is being affected, but as this aspect hasn't been studied, we have no way of knowing," said Dr Schneider. "As we know, concentrations of contaminants increase as they travel up the food chain so this has implications for anyone who consumes fish from these areas". Dr Schneider said the Tasmanian contamination is on par with that in the Kurang River in Pakistan, contaminated by mining and the Shur River in Iran, subject to heavy metal pollution from non-mining activities such as waste dumping.