Lead exposure from a northwest Queensland mine has caused brain damage in two children, as per a medical report. The Queensland Government will monitor these two cases closely.

The report has been released by five Mount Isa families, who have carried out a legal action against mining giant Xstrata, the Queensland Government and the local council. The report concluded that the two children got inflicted with brain damage after the exposure with lead toxicity.

The concentration of lead in a five-year-old Sidney has been found to be 31.5 micrograms per deciliter, which is three times more than the permissible limit. As examined in Bethany Sanders, 4, the lead content was 27.4mcg/dl, reported by Theodore Lidsky, an Adjunct Professor of neuroscience at City University of New York.

The lead concentration was found to be the cause of damages incurred to the brain, as expressed by Prof. Lidsky.

Damian Scattini, the families’ lawyer, said, “It's another piece in the puzzle. We've had them (Xstrata and the government) saying we don't know where it's coming from, well we have answered that, it's coming from the mine”.

The lead poisoning has been caused by the emissions from the mine, as confirmed by Jeannette Young, Chief Medical Officer of Queensland Health, which Xstrata says is naturally present in the environment.