Backyard chicken farms near city - Lead poisoning?

[Novice Chicken Mum]

Hi All
I got the shock of my life because my husband made me aware of a problem with lead accumulation in backyards and in Eggs. The ABC article claims backyard eggs (free range) have 40% more lead than store bought cage eggs.
We are in Sydney Australia and according to the map (we are far north) we have the smallest amount compared to around the city. I’m getting my soil and eggs tested now but it’s very upsetting / if we have lead we will no need able to consume the eggs.
Are other Countries and states facing this problem??
I understand the principle - old buildings pre-1970 with lead paint
We may not lead in our ground but won’t know until we have tested and I can’t give my eggs away anymore.

I would love to hear from others please!!!
I’ll put in the results here when I get them.
Has this issue been raised in other countries?

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-10/backyard-eggs-lead-levels-chicken/101289708

 

[SmiYa0126]

I would check historically what the land was used for where you live, however that's a really small sample size, 55 homes?

 

[saysfaa]

Something similar hit my news feed a week or so ago. I dismissed it as another big, scary thing to bash food producers. Also, that it is something to consider for those who live where it might be an issue. Even then, there are things that can be done to safely keep chickens.

Our writers and editors were less honest than yours. Ours just said research had found backyard flocks had 40 times more lead. Yours has much more perspective in the news article although still more alarmist than fair.

I read your article. And the published research... in the limitations it says "This study relied on self-selecting participants, resulting in those who knew or were already concerned that their chickens might be exposed to legacy contaminants in garden soils."

In the materials and means section it says, the sampling was done "during a single visit between November 2019 and December 2020... For sampling in 2020, we targeted participants from the more contaminated inner west parts of Sydney (Taylor et al., 2021) to ensure sufficient samples from locations with known elevated garden soil Pb concentrations."

It isn't just a small sample. It is also a sample of only the places most likely to be the most highly contaminated. And they still found only half of them "may pose a health concern."

Testing your soil is wise anyway.

 

[Folly's place]

It's a legitimate concern near older buildings, and getting soil testing done is a good idea.
Growing up in a neighborhood built in the1920's, in an older house, lead must have been everywhere in the soil. also, lead weights on many items, used lead paint, and 50 years later have a measurable blood lead level. not enough to warrant treatment, but it's there.
Just think, maybe I'd be a genius without it!
We had a veggie garden right next to the house; all that lead paint scraped off into that garden...
Lead, and other nasties, all more managed now. We have a new list of ugly stuff swirling everywhere...
Mary