Local Test Results

Since 1993, more than 300 Blackwell-area children have had their blood tested for lead contamination, and the test results are kept on file by the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Dozens of homes, lawns and properties throughout the town of Blackwell have also been tested for contamination. Samples were taken from house dust, lawn soil, water and paint, and then examined for the presence of lead, arsenic and cadmium.

The results of these tests are alarming.

WHAT THE BLOOD TESTS SHOW

• Approximately 30% of the children who were tested had levels of lead in their blood equal to or greater than 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), the level that three recent scientific studies have identified as the threshold for neurological damage and other health problems.
• Approximately 10% of the children had blood lead levels equal to or greater than 10 µg/dL, the amount identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a level of concern.
• The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) declared that the smelter cleanup was complete in June 2001, but the percentage of children still showing elevated blood lead levels remains high—more than five times as high as the state average and nearly three times as high as the national average.
  

WHAT THE PROPERTY TESTS SHOW
The vast majority of homes tested in the Blackwell area were heavily contaminated with lead and/or arsenic. Lead-to-arsenic ratio testing proves that lead paint is not the cause of this contamination.

• More than 76% of homes had interior dust with lead levels exceeding the safety standards published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and/or the EPA.
• More than 60% of homes had lead levels in lawn soil higher than 150 parts per million (ppm), the State of California’s standard for lead contamination.
• More than 90% of the properties had levels of arsenic higher than 3.9 ppm, the EPA’s standard for arsenic contamination.
• Overall, the average amounts of lead and arsenic dust found in Blackwell’s homes is more than three times as high as the EPA’s permissible levels. Several of the homes, however, had dust that contained 10 to 15 times more lead or arsenic than is considered safe.

Further Investigation Is Needed
No studies have been performed to determine if the high levels of arsenic have caused health problems for the residents of Blackwell.  The attorneys of Nix, Patterson & Roach, LLP, who are representing the residents of Blackwell in this case, recommend that the OSDH conduct an epidemiological study to determine whether arsenic contamination has caused adverse health effects. The OSDH should also conduct more extensive testing of blood lead levels in Blackwell children, this time using 5 µg/dL or less as a threshold for adverse health effects. This level is consistent with the most recent scientific studies concerning lead’s effects on children.

Phelps Dodge and its parent company, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., are responsible for this contamination. These companies must clean all homes, properties and local businesses, both inside and out. These companies should also fund a medical monitoring program to track the contamination-related health problems facing the residents of Blackwell—both now and in the future.