A critical evaluation of public health programs at the Bunker Hill Superfund site.
Since 1983, the Bunker Hill Superfund site (BHSS) has been the second largest on US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Priority List for cleanup. Contaminants include millions of tons of Pb, Cd, Hg and As. In 1974, following a bag house fire, 22.1% of young children had blood lead levels >80 microg/dl. In the early 1980s to the present, EPA initiated the cleanup of exterior residential soils and the smelter complex. In 1999, The National Geological Service confirmed that heavy metal pollution had extended from BHSS to Lake Coeur d'Alene (already known earlier) all the way to the Spokane River in Washington State via water borne tributaries linking Idaho and Washington States. This report focuses on public health programs and their results initiated by Federal and State agencies at the BHSS. These programs include blood lead screening, educational programs, exploratory dust control plans, and land transactions. These programs and their results are then evaluated, assessed and critically discussed. The conclusion of this critical evaluation assessment is that the protection of public health has not been adequately addressed or protected by Federal and State agencies.
Rosen
John F
JF
Division of Environmental Sciences, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10467, USA. jrosen5@ix.netcom.com
D002648:Child; D004391:Dust; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D006801:Humans; D007061:Idaho; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008403:Mass Screening; D008669:Metallurgy; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D014481:United States; D014484:United States Environmental Protection Agency
D004391:Dust; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D007854:Lead