The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Transport and Urban Planning, representing the Minister for Environment and Heritage, a question about heavy metals in Dawsley Creek.
 Leave granted.
 The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: The Mount Barker Courier of 5 August 1998 gives a report on high levels of cadmium being found in Dawsley Creek (near Brukunga), levels which were deemed to be 20 to 30 times above health safety levels. I understand that a local dairy farmer destroyed more than 70 of his herd after the cows stopped producing milk or had difficulty calving. The origin of the cadmium appears to be from a pyrites mine, in connection with which, when exposed to oxygen and rainfall, leaching occurs, bringing out both sulphuric acid and a range of heavy metals. Cadmium is linked to a number of diseases, including cancer, bone degeneration, kidney diseases, as well as high blood pressure.
 The Hon. T.G. Cameron interjecting:
 The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: Yesónot good for you generally. I note here that an officer from the EPA, Dr Cugley, said that, because cadmium had to be ingested in large quantities to be a major health risk to humans, it was considered that there were not likely to be any problems. It is a fact that South Australian food generally is fairly high in cadmiumóso much so that offal meat, such as liver and kidneys from sheep more than two or three years old, cannot now be sold for human consumption. South Australian wheat andó
 The Hon. T.G. Cameron: Here in South Australia?
 The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: Yes, in South Australia. South Australian wheat and potatoes are quite high in cadmium also. The reason I ask this question is that it appears that, because it was assumed that large quantities had to be consumed, there was not a health risk. I have been told that the risk can be much greater if people already have relatively high levels of cadmium in their system, which in South Australia may well already be the case. My question to the Minister is: has there been any attempt to ascertain whether or not cadmium levels have been elevated in people living in the near vicinity?
  The Hon. DIANA LAIDLAW: I will refer the honour-able member's question to the Minister and bring back a reply.