Friday 3rd February 2006
ABC NT Local News

A research centre will investigate whether uranium in the water supply of a central Australian Aboriginal community is causing long-term damage to its residents.

Barry Noller from the National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology says uranium levels in the underground water supply of Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs, hovers around the drinking water limit.

He says the naturally occurring uranium may be causing kidney damage to residents who drink the water over a long period of time.

"The population in Yuendumu, like many other places in Northern Territory or northern Australia, have impaired renal function, so drinking water at the upper level of the uranium guidelines consistently may have consequences that are not yet fully understood," he said.