Mining companies advised NSW health authorities against contacting workers with blood lead levels up to 16 times the threshold for medical intervention, according to documents that raise accusations the mining watchdog failed to protect the community.

A tranche of documents released to NSW parliament last month shows the prevalence of high blood lead levels in the state’s Far West, particularly in workers exposed to lead dust in the region’s gold, silver and zinc mines.

More than 7000 people recorded elevated blood lead levels between 2010 and 2019, according to a previously unreleased NSW Health report. Among the 2000 cases who recorded their occupation, 77 per cent worked in mining.

In one case, de-identified pathology results sent to the Broken Hill public health unit showed at least

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