Cradle to Grave Impacts of Cars - Spreading the Message

By Adrian Hill, NSW Community Lead Advisory Service (CLAS)

After having blown the whistle in the previous LEAD Action News (V5N1) about the Cradle to Grave Impacts of Lead in Cars, we thought we should tell you what the Community Lead Advisory Service have been doing about it in terms of supporting affected communities. Apart from staffing our phone lines and running workshops and home shows (and producing LEAD Action News!) we have been networking with communities on the following issues:-  

Vehicle Emissions In The Harbour Tunnel

We have investigated whether there are lead filters inside the harbour tunnel vents - the answer is "no". The levels of ambient lead in the air in the tunnel are unacceptably high, but the EPA says more testing is required. Meanwhile a CSIRO study states benzene (and therefore probably lead) builds up inside cars in traffic.

MacDonald’s Takeaway Drive Throughs

As well as sending information to the [Blue] Mountains against MacDonald’s group of concerned residents who live near a proposed drive-through in Katoomba, Elizabeth O’Brien has written to MacDonald’s asking them for a vehicle emissions policy and has been on radio station 2BL to inform the general public about the drive-through emissions, extractor fans (worth $1m) which are required on all MacDonald’s built in the US, the idea of "roll-throughs" rather than "drive-throughs", and other possible solutions .

Other Issues We’ve Been Working On

We have also been liaising with the Eastern Distributor Taskforce and have joined the Save Sydney Coalition, running a stall at their launch and distributing information. On the 28th March Elizabeth was interviewed by Radio 2UE on the cradle to grave impacts of lead in cars.