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Scientific Studies
The following four studies are relevant to the contamination in Blackwell.
The first three are recent health studies that prove that children with smaller amounts of lead in their blood, such as 5 µg/dL and below, suffer neurological damage as a result of that lead exposure.
According to files kept by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), one out of every three Blackwell children has a blood lead level equal to or greater than 5 µg/dL.
The final study focuses on Blackwell and uses chemical fingerprinting to prove that lead-based paint is not the cause of the town’s lead contamination.
| Study: |  Low-Level Lead Exposure, Intelligence, and Academic Achievement: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study |
| Journal: | Pediatrics: The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics |
| Authors: | David C. Bellinger, Karen M. Stiles, Herbert L. Needleman |
| Date: | 1992 |
| Description: | This study shows significant damage to the intelligence quotient (IQ) of 10-year-old children who were exposed to very low levels of lead at age two. These children’s blood lead concentrations were lower than the 10 µg/dL “safe” level established by the CDC. |
| Study: | Cognitive Deficits Associated with Blood Lead Concentrations <10 µg/dL in US Children and Adolescents |
| Journal: | Public Health Reports |
| Authors: | Bruce P. Lanphear, Kim Dietrich, Peggy Auinger, Christopher Cox |
| Date: | 2000 |
| Description: | This study shows that blood lead concentrations below 5 µg/dL are associated with decreased reading and math skills in children and adolescents. |
| Study: | Intellectual Impairment in Children with Blood Lead Concentrations below 10 µg per Deciliter |
| Journal: | The New England Journal of Medicine |
| Authors: | Richard L. Canfield, Charles R. Henderson, Jr., Deborah A. Cory-Slechta, Christopher Cox, Todd A. Jusko, Bruce Lanphear |
| Date: | 2003 |
| Description: | This study shows decreased intellectual functioning in three- and five-year-old children with exposures to lead below the 10 µg/dL “safe” level established by the CDC. |
| Study: | Lead-Based Paint Residuals: Culprit or Cop-out? |
| Journal: | Journal of Residuals Science & Technology |
| Authors: | Rod O’Connor, P. “Brent” Duncan |
| Date: | 2008 |
| Description: | Blackwell, Oklahoma, is presented as a case study to demonstrate that large areas of heavily lead-contaminated soils cannot reasonably be attributed to lead-based house paint. This study also shows that it is possible to use chemical fingerprinting to eliminate paint as a major contributor to interior dust levels. |