Data show high lead levels in Herculaneum children This story was published in A-section on Wednesday, January 9, 2002. By Chris Carroll And Karen Branch-Brioso Of The Post-Dispatch Nearly one in four children tested by the state in the lead smelting city of Herculaneum suffers from lead poisoning, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The same day, citing "a public health emergency" among Herculaneum children, House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-St. Louis, asked that the city be placed on the Environmental Protection Agency's national priority list for cleanup funds. Gephardt wrote to EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman at the behest of Herculaneum residents concerned about lead levels in air, water and soil samples -- and in children's blood levels -- near the Doe Run smelter. The lead smelter, the nation's largest, has operated for more than a century in Herculaneum, a city of 2,800 about 30 miles south of St. Louis in Jefferson County. Gephardt's call was echoed by Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, who was directing the state's Department of Natural Resources to draft a similar letter to the EPA. The Department of Natural Resources has been monitoring contaminant levels in Herculaneum. The state's health department conducted a door-to-door survey in October. The results showed that 15 of 62 children ages 6 or younger, or 24 percent, fit the federal government's definition for lead poisoning. By comparison, state figures showed 23 percent of children tested in St. Louis were lead poisoned, and statewide 8 percent of those tested had elevated lead counts in their blood. Lead is a toxic metal especially harmful to the development of children and fetuses, and Doe Run's lead refining facility has been identified as the source of pollution that has made Herculaneum the subject of a wide-ranging cleanup monitored by state and federal regulators. A previous, smaller survey of blood lead levels by the state in August showed that 5 of 20 children tested met the standard for lead poisoning. The August and October results will be combined with data from blood lead tests conducted by doctors to define the level of environmental risk children face in Herculaneum, said Angela Minor. She is an environmental specialist for the state Health Department. The complete report should be ready for Herculaneum residents by late February, Minor said. Health risks to children Children who meet the federal standard of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood are at risk for a host of health problems, including reduced intelligence, impaired growth, neurological and behavioral problems. A parent of a kindergartner who had elevated blood lead levels in October now knows the health risks to his son. "You'd better believe I'm worried about what this thing might do to him," said Carl Brown, father of Carl Brown II, 5. "I don't want him to be sick. I don't want him to have a hard time in his life." Even children who don't reach the federal poisoning standard but nonetheless have measurable lead in their blood can suffer detrimental effects, including drops in IQ and behavioral problems, some researchers say. Dr. Bruce Lanphear, associate professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, has authored several recent studies of the effect of lead on children. "There's no safe level of lead in children's bodies," he said. "There is no threshold, like 10 micrograms, where harm starts to occur." One of his studies even indicates that lower levels of lead poisoning have the most dramatic effects, he said. Since Carl Brown II's blood test results came back, the boy is rarely allowed outside. "It's hard on him and it's hard on me,"his father said. Like many other Herculaneum residents who worry about their children, Brown's anger has turned on the company that refines the lead. "Maybe I didn't pay enough attention until lately ... but I'm aggravated (Doe Run) sat back and let the poisoning happen," he said. "They're still polluting, from what I understand." Doe Run's cleanup efforts Doe Run has spent millions of dollars over the years to reduce pollution but has never succeeded enough to bring Herculaneum into compliance with federal air-quality laws. Children, meanwhile, continue to test positive for lead poisoning, although the average blood-lead content has fallen over the years. The company is putting all its effort into ending the problem, said Barbara Shepard, Doe Run vice president of community relations. "We said to the community ... our goal is no children with elevated blood levels, and our objective has not changed," she said. State and federal officials took dramatic action last year in an attempt to end pollution in Herculaneum. After securing Doe Run's agreement to cooperate, the EPA and Missouri's Department of Natural Resources ordered the company to begin carrying out a major cleanup to reduce air pollution and clean up contamination that accumulated over the decades in yards, parks and houses. In August, Department of Natural Resources regulators discovered high lead pollution on city streets, including a pile that contained about 30 percent lead. Last month, the EPA and Doe Run agreed to a new order that significantly accelerates a program to dig up and replace polluted soil at houses and elsewhere. Shepard said the company was devoted to ending health problems in the city. "We are continuing to do the cleanups; we have entered this most recent agreement with EPA focusing on solving these issues," she said. "We are doing house cleanups, cleanups of the haul roads and working with residents to identify other problems and sources of lead." A member of Herculaneum's community advisory group, which asked Gephardt to help Herculaneum win a spot on the Superfund list, said she was glad he had taken action. "This is a very urgent - if not crisis - matter," she said. "People cannot live in their homes, work in their yards, walk on their streets or play in the parks without contamination." Reporter Chris Carroll: E-mail: chriscarroll@post-dispatch.com Phone: 636-931-1016\Reporter Karen Branch-Brioso: E-mail: kbranch@post-dispatch.com Phone: 202-298-6880 Published in the A-section section of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday, January 9, 2002. Copyright (C)2002, St. Louis Post-Dispatch