Premier Roger Cook concedes elevated lead levels at Perth Children’s Hospital ‘recurring problem’

Roger Cook has conceded that elevated lead levels in water at Perth Children’s Hospital are likely to be a “recurring problem”, with authorities stumped over the cause. Water has now been shut off at two locations in PCH, but the Premier insists he’s been assured there was never a risk to public health. The Health Department has so far refused to reveal by how much the latest samples exceeded the safety benchmark set by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines, prompting the Opposition to accuse the Government of engaging in a cover-up. “There’s always a shroud of secrecy. There’s a lack of clarity, and there is no intent to bring the West Australian public along on this journey,” Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said on Wednesday. “If there is lead in the water at PCH, then tell people.” The Cook Government previously insisted lead leaching inside PCH was a “historical” issue after The West Australian revealed last week that 11 samples of drinking water, taken between the start of 2023 and the end of March 2024, contained more lead than the national standard. It has since been revealed the Health Department and State Government was notified on Friday afternoon, that five more “exceedances” have since been recorded. “Testing was recently conducted during August as part of the testing program, with PCH becoming aware of exceedances on 5 September 2025,” a Child and Adolescent Health Services spokesman said. “Five exceedances were reported across two locations, one accessible to staff and the other accessible to visitors.” There was no public notification for four days, until Health Minister Meredith Hammat made a statement in Parliament on Tuesday. The Premier defended the decision not to release the information sooner, and maintained the Government has been “fully” transparent. “I want to provide as much data as I can and information to the community,” Mr Cook said. “Transparency in these situations is obviously very important. We don’t want to overly alarm the community just by simply flooding un-contextualised data into the community. “But I am working with the Minister of Health at the moment to see how we can provide more information.” Pressed on the size of the latest exceedances, Mr Cook said he didn’t have the data details. “However, they weren’t in patient facing areas and posed no risk to the public, patients or staff.” The Opposition tried again during Question Time, but Liberal MP Nick Goiran’s specific question about “what levels” went unanswered. “I’m advised by the Chief Health Officer that no exceedance has presented a risk to the health and safety of staff or patients,” parliamentary secretary Pierre Yang said, in the Legislative Council. “The Chief Health Officer has reviewed the test results which has informed his opinion.” Ms Hammat rejected Opposition claims that Government policy was keeping the public in the dark. “The Chief Health officer is going to report monthly to the Director-General,” she said. “I’ve made it clear that any exceedances that present a risk to patients or staff will be formally reported to me as minister. “What I said I would do is follow the advice of our Chief Health Officer. He is the expert, that is his job, and I’ll take his advice as I receive it.” Chief Health Officer Andrew Robertson maintained that the water at PCH was “safe to drink” but Mr Cook confirmed the water has been shut off in some areas. “Strangely, (the exceedances) are in these same two locations,” the Premier told ABC radio. “So there’s some specific fittings or something there which would indicate that we’re getting some leeching of lead into those particular outlets. “Those areas are shut off now, they’re not in patient facing areas or in public or staffing areas. “But they are in areas that we obviously want to get on top of.” Lead consumption can “severely affect the central nervous system,” according to the National Health and Medical Research Council, with young children and babies the “most susceptible.” The Health Department said remediation was underway and a clear test would be required before any further use of the affected fixtures. “I have confidence in this testing. It is a proactive program so that the Child and Adolescent Health Service can undertake remediation when exceedances are detected,” Dr Robertson said. “CAHS will continue to test and monitor the water on an ongoing basis.” Lead contamination was first detected at the Perth Children’s Hospital site in 2016 and delayed its opening, while taxpayers forked out about $20,000 for bottled water for construction workers. A Government review in 2017 dezincification of brass fittings next to about 1200 potable water outlets, and questioned the “suitability and standards” of the components. “The problem is most likely widespread through the building,” Professor Tarun Weeramanthri said. Phosphate treatment was only “partially, but not sufficiently” effective and he recommended the brass fittings be replaced. When the hospital opened in May 2018, Mr Cook - who was Health Minister at the time - declared “all the issues in relation to water have been resolved”. On Friday, he described new reports of lead contamination as “chalk and cheese”. “In 2016 you saw a significant outbreak across a whole range of areas of the hospital, which led to a significant piece of work to reconstruct and retrofit,” Mr Cook said. “There’s been no exceedances of any lead levels at PCH since April 2024, so this is well and truly in the rear view mirror.”