Lead
Poisoning
Lead Poisoning News
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
!Breaking
News from the ATSDR!
| When
BLLs [blood lead levels] for children residing east of
Highway 61/Commercial Blvd. (the portion of the community
closer to the smelter) are examined exclusively, 30 of
67 children, approximately 45%, had BLLs of 10 ìg/dL
or higher. This is significantly higher than the national
prevalence rate of 7.6 % and the Missouri prevalence rate
of 8%. The average BLL in children less than 72 months,
regardless of proximity to the smelter, was 8.0 ìg/dL
for the entire calendar year, with BLLs ranging from 2-31
ìg/dL. This is also higher than the national mean
BLL of 2.0 ìg/dL. Based on these BLLs and prevalence
rates, it is likely that adverse health effects, such
as those mentioned above, may be occurring in a considerable
portion of the children in this community.
|
January 29, 2002
Herculaneum, MO residents want their city put on the federal
government list ranking the nation’s most polluted sites,
in hopes for government buyout of their lead-filled homes.
Most families in Herculaneum just want to get their families
out of the lead contaminated areas but cannot afford it because
their house and land value is so low due to the health problems
and location to the lead smelters. Some families have been
able to take advantage of the temporary relocation while they
wait for their homes and yard to be stripped of the lead contamination.
| Herculaneum
has had more luck with lead cleanup than other areas.
Missouri’s Old Lead Belt has been on this list for
a decade and they have yet to see relocation for their
residents. The cleanup has been a long and slow process,
much slower than Herculaneum’s lead cleanup. The
area in the Old Lead Belt has 25,000 residents and is
about 10 times the population of Herculaneum but may have
been overlooked because the EPA bypassed Superfund’s
complex national priority list. Officials claim that Superfund
is a slow-moving process that takes time. Herculaneum
has received a lot of press attention that may be the
reason their clean up has progressed so much faster than
other areas, but according to a Herculaneum Alderman,
the EPA has not guaranteed the cleanup will work out. |
January 29, 2002
Herculaneum has received a lot of attention because of the
high levels of lead poisoning that have been tested in around
a quarter of the town’s children. The risks associated
with lead poisoning are serious, including neurological problems,
like learning disabilities. The lead poisoning problems that
have been highlighted are not even as bad as the number of
other cities that have been affected much worse than the Herculaneum
residents.
While Herculaneum has received a lot of attention
for their high levels of lead, other poor, urban areas have
yet to receive protection from the lead poisoning afflicted
on the children. The EPA claims they are unable to help these
children that must live in old, run down conditions full of
lead based paint chips and flakes.
January 24, 2002
The federal official announced they would temporarily move
hundreds of residents from Herculaneum out of their homes
in order to strip the lead contamination from the yards and
homes. The relocation would include homes with young children,
pregnant women, and various others, as well as homes with
children older than 6 but who have high lead levels. There
are skeptical opinions of how effective the lead cleanup will
be, considering there is still a smelter polluting the town
with lead. Tests performed on various Herculaneum areas have
found that there are dangerous levels of lead contained in
the soil, streets, homes, schools, and many other places.
The children are the most potentially affected by the lead
poisoning because the risk of reduced cognitive, behavioral,
and developmental problems. U.S. House Minority Leader Richard
Gephardt and Governor Bob Holden asked the EPA to put Herculaneum
on the EPA Superfund national priority list of sites that
need government funds for cleanup.
January 20, 2002
In 1999, more than 372 million pounds of lead was released
according to the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, and Herculaneum
has emerged as another area contaminated by lead. The EPA
has fallen behind on lead pollution cleanup, including areas
of Oklahoma that has become so polluted that the governor
wishes to relocate two entire towns. Lead poisoning has been
a continual problem that has negatively affected entire towns
and cities. New ideas must be considered when approaching
the ongoing lead poisoning problem. Currently, the federal-state
partnership in dealing with lead contamination and pollution
is strong. According to a government study from last year
there are about 38 million American homes with lead based
paint and 25 million of these are dangerous.
January 20, 2002
A Herculaneum child had blood tests last year showing
her lead level to be twice the standard that is considered
for lead poisoning. She is among over a hundred other Herculaneum
children and families to have lead poisoning. Lead poisoning
harms the neurological development of children and fetuses,
causing reduced intelligence, behavioral disorders, and other
physical problems. Adults with lead poisoning can endure fatigue,
heart, and kidney problems.
| The EPA announced a plan to relocate
the households with young children, pregnant women, and
other people sensitive to lead poisoning while their homes
and yards are cleaned for lead contamination. Herculaneum
is the home of the country’s largest lead smelter.
Data from Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
show that 24% of the children tested had blood lead levels
greater than the federal lead poisoning level. Of the
200 children that are 6 years or younger that live in
Herculaneum, about 80 were tested for lead poisoning.
|
Herculaneum residents remain skeptical of
the planned lead clean up because they will have to return
to the exact same environment and the smelter is still up
and running.
January 9, 2002
Herculaneum, Missouri found that about one in four children
that were tested by the state suffer from lead poisoning.
These results are based on preliminary data, but House Minority
Leader Richard Gephardt asked that Herculaneum be placed on
the Environmental Protection Agency’s national priority
list for cleanup funds. The city of Herculaneum is the home
of the largest lead smelter in the nation. In a door-to-door
survey by the state’s health department, they found 15
of 62 children, age 6 or younger, met the criteria for the
federal government’s definition of lead poisoning. Twenty
three percent of children tested in St. Louis have lead poisoning
according to state figures. The toxic metal lead poisoning
affects the development of children and fetuses.
|
