What does the Buffer Zone mean?
The Buffer Zone was an area where the Lead in Air was thought to be above the level of 1µg Pb/m3. This was the target set by the Conditions of Consent for the 1995 update of the smelter. Pasminco offered to buy all of the houses that were within the buffer zone. Since closure, the lead in air levels have reduced by over 90% and as such, the buffer zone no longer exists. Pasminco has since sold the majority of the houses within this area that it purchased during the 1990s.
