Man Wins Lead-Poison Costs Fight
By Ann Treweek of the
Sunday Times, WA, 26/1/97,reprinted with kind permission.
Ed. This is the latest on "Lead
Worker: A Case History", published in LEAD Action News vol 4 no 3.
A
former mine laboratory worker who suffered high lead levels has won compensation for
medical costs 16 years after exposure. The man claims that despite high blood lead levels,
health officials failed to diagnose his poisoning. Now he plans to have chelation therapy
to remove lead from his tissues and says the State Government Insurance Office will pay. He has suffered bad moods, memory trouble, lack of
concentration, tremors and fatigue since working as an assayer at a gold mine laboratory
in 1981.
When a test found his blood lead levels
were abnormally high, the company moved him to another section and his levels fell to
normal.
The man said he made no compensation claim
at the time, but asked about long-term effects. He said a doctor then with the Health
Department, and now working with Worksafe, laughed at his concerns.
But the man recently learnt from action
groups outside WA that other lead-exposed people had similar memory and tremor problems.
While his blood levels were normal, he
believed lead in his tissues still caused problems.
He said the SGIO had just accepted
liability for medical costs.
But the six-year statute of limitations
prevented him from claiming damages, even though he expressed concern about his long-term
health in 1981 and 1982.
Labor MP Alannah McTiernan has taken up his
case.
|
