Xstrata in bad straits
Published by MAC on 2006-06-22
Xstrata in bad straits
22nd June 2006
The UK-Swiss giant, Xstrata, has been accused of emitting unacceptable levels of lead into the air from its Queensland smelter in Australia, thus endangering children's health. The company counter-claims that it's been monitoring the emissions at a "higher" level than government standards, although it admits that there's always a "small risk" attached to its operations.
But now a former senior manager at the nation's Environmental Protection Agency claims that the Queensland government connived with industry to lower the standards, with Xstrata as a beneficiary of the subterfuge.