This comes after it was revealed that the tenby10 project target will not be met by up to 20 percent by the end of the year.

The project aimed to have 95 percent of children under five with blood-lead levels below 10 micrograms per decilitre.

Despite the setback, Mayor Brenton Vanstone praised the program.

He said important reductions had been achieved since the introduction of the program.

While every city has pollution emitters, he asked how many monitored the atmospheric levels and the pollution levels of its citizens.

“The quantified and qualified program of tenby10 that has been run by Nyrstar with the council, local industry and State Government has had amazing results,” he said.

“While the program may not continue, the

objectives will, be that with an alternative program or under the current logo.”

Before the program’s inception, World Health Organisation recommendations that children under five should have lead levels at below 10 micrograms per decilitre of blood was only achieved by about 46 percent of Port Pirie children, but by the end of last year it was about 72 percent – a marked improvement.

“A lesser goal could have been set and achieved with less effort, but instead the program set more ambitious targets and is striving harder to meet them,” Mr Vanstone said.

Smelter general manager Glenn Poynter said a 95 percent goal would be “phenomenal”, but that the current levels were still “fantastic”.

“Nyrstar is going to do everything possible to reach the original goal, but it doesn’t all end at the end of 2010,” he said.

“We are working towards no child having a blood lead-level above 10 micrograms per decilitre of blood and we are pleased and proud of the progress that has been made towards this.”

Committing Nyrstar to the international target beyond this year was something Mr Poynter was happy to do.

“It is not the catchy phrase that is important but the commitment to the goal that is,” he said of any future programs of commitments aimed at further reducing lead levels in the community.