Lead alert over old tub troughs for farm animals

High levels of lead have been found in samples of water from old bathtub troughs with damaged enamel coating and farmers are being warned to check the condition of any on their property.

Veterinarian and Animal Health Australia consultant Dr Bruce Jackson said that bathtubs made prior to 1980 often contained lead in the enamel used to seal and smooth the surface of the bath, and any form of abrasion, chipping or wear can allow release of lead into the water.

“Fortunately, in this case no livestock such as cattle or sheep were involved, but if they had been, and testing revealed that their tissue or blood lead levels were too high, affected animals would have been placed under restrictions,” he said.

“Their NLIS EID tag numbers would have been placed on a restricted list to ensure that carcases from these animals were not processed for human consumption.”

The NLIS in Australia is one of the best traceback systems in the world and helps protect the domestic population and export markets from residue issues.

Dr Jackson recalled that it was the dieldrin and DDT residues crisis of 1989 which led to the use of tail tags on cattle.

He said a good traceback system is also essential if there is an outbreak of an emergency disease.

“Foot and mouth disease is still active in Indonesia and infected meat products have been detected by customs at our border in the past, so we have to be ready to respond to any outbreak that could occur at any time,” he said.

“Filling in NVDs properly and applying the correct NLIS tags may be either considered a nuisance, or valuable insurance.

“When we are so dependent on export markets to absorb 70 percent of the red meat we produce, insurance seems like a good idea.”