[CPEO-IRF] Children at Risk from Lead in Badger Soils

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

July 25, 2006


PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release



For more information contact:
Dr. Peter deFur, Environmental Stewardship Concepts (804)741-2922
Laura Olah, CSWAB (608)643-3124





Children at Risk from Lead in Badger Soils



MERRIMAC, WI – According to a report released today by Citizens for Safe 
Water Around Badger (CSWAB), state regulators are allowing the Army to 
leave higher than previously-approved levels of lead in soils at Badger 
Army Ammunition Plant – a move that could place the health of children 
at risk.



“Based on a $6-million risk assessment by the Army, both the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency and WNDR approved a cleanup level of 30 
parts per million (ppm) in 1998,” said Laura Olah, Executive Director of 
CSWAB.  “The WDNR is now approving lead levels as high as 250 ppm, a 
level which places children at particular risk considering the minute 
levels that cause adverse effects in children.”



“A remediation goal for human babies should be as close to zero as 
possible as there is no safe exposure to lead,” said Dr. Peter deFur, a 
consultant and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University working 
with CSWAB.   “As lead is studied more and more, we find that it is more 
and more toxic.  It would be a great injustice if our children were 
allowed to be exposed to this incredibly toxic compound unnecessarily.”



 “Prolonged exposure to soil at the elevated cleanup level could raise 
lead levels in children’s blood to dangerous levels,” deFur added. 
“Leaving such significant concentrations of lead in the soil could 
potentially harm the intellectual development of children.”



Lead is a blue gray metal found naturally in the environment. Human 
activities such as military and industrial operations concentrate lead 
in some areas, which can lead to a number of significant health risks. 
Lead targets the central nervous system, and impairs its development in 
children. Children exposed to lead have demonstrated lower IQs, reduced 
motor skills, developmental problems, hyperactivity, and increased 
aggression.



To view the report, go to http://www.cswab.org/leadinsoil.html



END





- -

Laura Olah, Executive Director

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger

E12629 Weigand's Bay South

Merrimac, WI  53561

Phone: (608) 643-3124

Email: info@cswab.org

Website: www.cswab.org
--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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