By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com
TREECE, Kan. — Treece residents are consistently exposed to environmental lead hazards, and children in the community from birth to age 6 are three times as likely as children elsewhere in the state to have high levels of lead in their blood.
That’s according to a report released Thursday by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The report is based in part on blood-lead screenings done Sept. 8-9 on 73 Treece residents, as well as previous screenings done on children.
Statewide, 2.9 percent of children from birth to age 6 have elevated blood-lead levels, compared with 3.8 percent in Cherokee County and 8.8 percent in Treece, the state health department said.
“Blood-lead screening indicates that Treece residents face similar risks of environmental lead exposure regardless of age or gender,” reads a portion of the report’s conclusion.
The report was forwarded to the Environmental Protection Agency, said Maggie Thompson, KDHE spokeswoman. The report also notes that a normal lead level is 2.5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, but adds: “There is no safe level of lead in the human body.”
Treece, like neighboring Picher, Okla., is contaminated with waste from decades of lead and zinc mining that ended in the 1970s. The EPA is conducting a buyout of Picher residents, and some Treece residents are pushing for a buyout, too. The U.S. Senate last month approved an amendment to the annual Interior and Environment Appropriations Act that U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., said lays the groundwork for an EPA buyout of Treece.
Treece resident Tyree Frazier said by phone Thursday that she participated in the testing last month. She said she was informed that the level of lead in her blood was in the normal range. Told of the results of the study, she said they didn’t surprise her.
“When the wind blows, the dust from the chat piles blows everywhere,” she said.
She said she hopes the results bolster the case for a buyout with the EPA.
Children are deemed to have lead poisoning if they have 10 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. Adults are deemed to have lead poisoning with 25 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.
The median blood-lead level of Treece residents is 4 micrograms per deciliter, while the state median is 2.5 micrograms per deciliter, the KDHE said.
The report stated that “a dramatic difference is noted” when comparing the proportion of children 6 and younger statewide who screened at 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood or higher (2.9 percent) with the rate for children of the same age from Treece who were screened from 2005 through September 2009 (8.8 percent).
The September tests also found that 6.3 percent of all Treece residents who were tested had 10 or more micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood, compared with 3.8 percent in Cherokee County overall.
The KDHE report says the toxic effects of lead include abdominal pain, vomiting, irritability, seizures and death. In children, lead interferes with normal development.
More than half
The 73 residents who were tested Sept. 8-9 represent about 53 percent of the 139 residents in Treece.
“There is no recorded event of this type where more than 50 percent of an entire community’s population has been tested,” the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Testing of Treece residents confirms high lead levels
- Local News
-
-
FTC program gains support from national foundation
For Joplin High School junior Drew Holle, taking auto classes at Franklin Technology Center is a family affair. “My dad went here, my brother went here and now I’m here,” Holle said. “I’ve always been into it. My dad owns his own shop. It’s just something I’ve watched him do, so now I want to learn.”
-
City official: SEMA rejects helping individuals pay for safe rooms
Joplin officials were notified Friday by the State Emergency Management Agency that individual storm shelters will not be funded, but a spokesman said that $20 million will be earmarked to build community safe rooms in Joplin schools or elsewhere.
-
Racial slur written on door of church that holds Spanish-language service
When Pastor Greg Earl arrived at Mission of Encouragement Church about 11:30 a.m. last Saturday to do work with his food pantry, he was shocked by what he saw.
-
Lake-business owners worry about any plan to tap Stockton
Two Stockton Lake business owners said their questions were answered Friday about reports that water from the lake might be piped to Joplin at some point in the future.
-
Masonite to add 65 new jobs in Pittsburg
Masonite is expanding its exterior door and glass insert manufacturing plants in Pittsburg, and company officials anticipate a growth of about 65 jobs.
-
Three JHS seniors finalists for national scholarship program
Three Joplin High School seniors have been named finalists in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Siri Ancha, Michelle Barchak and Derek Carter are now among the 15,000 finalists who will be narrowed down to 8,300 winners for corporate-sponsored, college-sponsored and National Merit $2,500 scholarships in the next few months.
-
Play’s issues remain relevant
It’s performed by one of the smallest casts in recent Pittsburg Community Theatre history, but “The Glass Menagerie” will be no less impactful, says director Linden Little.
-
Mike Pound: In case you haven’t heard, Super Bowl is Sunday
If you are reading this on Saturday morning, then you are probably aware that the Super Bowl pre-game show is now in hour number 173. By now, profiles of every person who has ever played in the NFL have been completed and aired.
-
Webb City school official cites Bright Futures reception
Webb City Assistant Superintendent Kevin Cooper pointed to a recent request on the district’s Bright Futures Facebook page as an example of how the community has embraced the new program.
-
Brunner’s wealth would rank high in US Senate
St. Louis businessman John Brunner has already poured at least $1 million into his U.S. Senate campaign.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
