Lead 80 times the safe limit found in water at Hong Kong public housing estate where scandal broke

Lead levels at nearly 80 times World Health Organisation safety standards were found in water samples from the public housing estate where the city's tainted water scandal began, a concern group revealed after its latest round of tests.

A water sample from Yan Ching House in Kowloon City's Kai Ching Estate showed levels of the heavy metal at 793 micrograms per litre in tests by the Lead in Drinking Water Concern Group, conducted in July and last month. Of the 704 households tested, water from 328 flats in all six blocks of the estate had excessive lead levels - with 19 exceeding the WHO standard of 10 mcg/l by 10 times or more.

Water was collected from households after running taps for two minutes. A government-certified laboratory carried out the tests.

Completed in 2013, Kai Ching was the first public housing estate to have excessive lead levels found in its water in tests by the Democratic Party in early July.

The government then confirmed that lead content in seven water samples taken from the estate exceeded WHO standards, which led to city-wide tests that exposed tainted water elsewhere.

Of 25 Kai Ching residents who underwent blood tests sponsored by the concern group, three - two elderly people in their 80s and a middle-aged woman - had excessive lead levels in their blood, ranging from 10.5 micrograms per decilitre to 18.4 mcg/dl. The safety standard for lead in blood is 5mcg/dl.