Lead contamination 'stops children from playing outdoors'

Families in New Zealand have been stopping their children from playing in their own gardens due to fears that the area is contaminated with lead.

Soil surrounding homes rented out by Lincoln University have been found by the institutes' property services to contain three times the recommended levels of lead, reported stuff.co.nz.

As a result, the organisation has issued warning notices not to let children play around the eight affected properties and said it will replace the soil over the next two weeks.

Reacting to residents' health concerns on the issue, Ron McLaren, an ex-professor and soil specialist from the university, said that the precautions were sensible and that in following them, families should remain safe from contamination.

In December, Magellan Metals was fined AU$9 million (£4.2 million) for contaminating local residents in the Esperance Port area with lead after it used the local waterways to transport the metal, reported abc.com.