Blood results released two years after test
Results from blood tests taken from a Superfund neighborhood in Pueblo show a small percentage of children have high lead levels.
The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry tested 80 children 12 years old and younger. Five of the 80 children had elevated lead levels in their blood. The parents of those five children learned of the results shortly after the testing was done in September 2013, but Pueblo City Council wasn’t notified until earlier this month.
Capt. Bruce Tierney of ASTDR told KRDO NewsChannel 13’s news partners, The Pueblo Chieftain, that the results weren’t publicly released sooner because the agency was preparing a final study.
KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Pueblo City Council President Steve Nawrocki why council didn’t press ATSDR for the results before declaring it a Superfund site.
“I felt like we did everything we could in our power. We met with our delegation. We had been to Washington twice and we were unable to get anything done quicker,” Nawrocki said.
The results shocked the owner of the Do Drop Inn in the Eilers neighborhood.
“I was alarmed. I thought five was a lot because I’m sure not every child in this neighborhood was tested,” said Donna Macfarlane Franz.
But David Webb, who recently moved out of the Eilers neighborhood, said the results don’t prove the lead contamination came from the Colorado Smelter.
“I warned City Council not to act too quickly, to make sure they had the test results, to make sure there’s a true danger here in the Eilers neighborhood and in Bessemer,” Webb said. “They didn’t heed the warning.”
Lynn Procell, director of community health services at the Pueblo City County Health Department, said lead exposure can cause developmental delays, including lowing a person’s IQ. She added that there’s no way to trace a person’s blood to find out where the lead exposure came from.
“Homes that were built before 1978. You can have lead in toys and foods from other countries, in pottery and dishes. Some folks by way of their hobbies might be bringing in lead exposure,” Procell said.
She added that there are certain foods that can help eliminate some of the lead in a person’s body, including food with calcium and Vitamin C.
