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[SIZE=+1]AM - Lead poisoning suspected in bird deaths[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1][This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2007/s1868285.htm][/SIZE]
AM - Saturday, 10 March , 2007 08:19:24
Reporter: David Weber
ELIZABETH JACKSON: Western Australia's Environment Department believes the mysterious deaths of thousands of birds in the State's south might be a result of lead poisoning.
Four-thousand birds, mainly nectar-eaters, were found in and around the port town of Esperance in December and January.
The Environment Department started a testing program after distressed residents notified them of the deaths.
The Esperance Port Authority says it wants to identify the source of the lead poisoning.
The deaths of more than 100 birds this week has given the matter greater urgency, as David Weber reports.
DAVID WEBER: Until now, no-one has been able to determine what may have killed the birds.
Thousands of yellow-throated miners, wattlebirds, and honeyeaters were found in Esperance, mostly near water sources.
Department of Environment spokesman David Mell.
DAVID MELL: The findings were on samples of birds collected in December of 2006 and the results of those - the conclusion that the veterinary pathologist came to, was that the birds that were sampled died from lead poisoning.
DAVID WEBER: What could be the source of the lead poisoning?
DAVID MELL: Well lead carbonate is transported from West of Wiluna and from Leonora by train into Esperance and is stored in the Port Authority and then shipped from the Port Authority.
At this stage it's an obvious, potential source that we need to examine, but the results of the tests so far don't show and will never show a point of origin.
DAVID WEBER: This week a 100 more birds were found dead in Esperance. Most of them were purple-crowned lorikeets, a nomadic species, as David Mell explains.
DAVID MELL: It potentially gives us a clue, they're quite a different group of birds. Obviously purple-crowded lorikeets. The primary range of birds affected were honeyeaters, wattlebirds and minors - so insectivores but the common thread across both groups of birds is that they are both nectarivores.
DAVID WEBER: The bird deaths reported in early February in the central wheat belt. Is the Department still ruling out any link there?
DAVID MELL: Yes in fact we had two quite different events. There was a group of 200-300 tree martins that were found dead. We're satisfied that the cause of death in that case was a combination of weather conditions that kept them grounded plus a sudden drop in temperature.
Quite strangely the opposite event occurred sometime later between Yulering (phonetic) and Cundaton (phonetic) where 45 degree temperatures and extremely strong winds appears to be a factor in the death of a large number of parrots.
DAVID WEBER: In Esperance, the Department of Environment will observe port loadings in the coming weeks to make sure there's no dust emissions.
The Esperance Port Authority says it will work with the department to determine the source of the lead, and new monitoring equipment will be installed.
The Department of Health meanwhile says there's no suggestion of a health risk to the people of the town.
ELIZABETH JACKSON: David Weber with that report.
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