{"text":[[{"start":7.85,"text":"Lead pollution from abandoned metal mines is contaminating produce, animals and potentially drinking water across England and Wales, according to an official review that calls for more research into the long-term health risks for nearby communities. "}],[{"start":22.7,"text":"The rapid review, ordered by ministers after a FT investigation, found pollution from former mines and smelting sites could potentially affect both human and animal health by contaminating food, water and soil."}],[{"start":36.7,"text":"The UK has 6,630 disused industrial lead mines, more than half of them in England, which continue to release lead into rivers and surrounding land decades after they closed."}],[{"start":47.85,"text":"The toxic metal can accumulate in soils and waterways before entering the food chain through crops and livestock. Even low levels of lead exposure are associated with harmful effects on humans, particularly in children."}],[{"start":60.85,"text":"The review, which cost £114,250, concluded that produce grown and animals reared near former mining sites “can have high, potentially toxic concentrations of metals”, with the potential to harm human health. It drew on 156 scientific studies published between 1944 and last year."}],[{"start":79.8,"text":"Conducted by the University of Nottingham, it found that “the human health risks and impacts due to consuming produce produced on or near metal mine or smelter-contaminated soils are globally not well studied or documented” and stressed the need for more research."}],[{"start":93.3,"text":"For people living in these areas and whose water comes from a private water supply, contaminated drinking water also “has the potential to impact health”, according to the report. "}],[{"start":102.8,"text":"Of the 18 studies included in the review that examined food grown near former mines, all detected elevated metal concentrations in at least some of the produce sampled. "}],[{"start":112.8,"text":"The review — which follows separate probes by England’s environmental watchdog and food standards regulator — also found livestock and wild game exposed to contaminated soils and water could accumulate high, potentially toxic concentrations of lead in their kidneys and livers."}],[{"start":129.8,"text":"The UK’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate, an agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, tests only between 400 and 450 samples of meat, milk, fish and honey for the presence of lead and other heavy metals each year."}],[{"start":148.25,"text":"Experts have warned that testing such a small number of food items offers an insufficient assessment."}],[{"start":154.2,"text":"The academics leading the UK government-commissioned report previously worked on a study funded by the Welsh environment agency, which identified potentially harmful levels of lead in eggs produced on two small farms downstream from abandoned lead mines in west Wales."}],[{"start":169.7,"text":"A young child eating one or two of the eggs a day “could become cognitively impaired”, according to their research. "}],[{"start":176.85,"text":"Small-scale studies of vegetables grown on the farms indicated that they also contained “elevated, and potentially toxic, concentrations” of lead, the academics said."}],[{"start":186.75,"text":"Officials have previously told the FT that regulatory standards are not strong enough to monitor this industrial legacy and its impact on human health."}],[{"start":196.9,"text":"The environment department said: “Current drinking water standards and food safety regulations meet strict requirements to ensure public safety, but this report demonstrates the importance of taking action to reduce historical contamination.”"}],[{"start":210.20000000000002,"text":"“We will work with partners to deliver measures to achieve this,” it added. "}],[{"start":221.30000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785043932_1514.mp3"}