Abstract
Pueblo, Colorado has a long history of smelting activities, and recent studies raised concerns about lead exposure. This study tested 240 children in Pueblo for blood lead levels (BLLs) and found a significant association between distance from old smelters and children BLLs. Around 7.5% of Pueblo children had BLLs above the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference level of 5 µg/dL for elevated BLL, and 18.3% had BLLs between 3.3–4.9 µg/dL. Out of the 36 children who lived near former smelters, 13.9% had BLLs above 5 µg/dL vs. 6.37% for children living away from old smelters. The proportion of Pueblo children with elevated BLL was nearly three times the 2007–2010 United States national average (7.5% vs. 2.6%), and this was higher in the immediate vicinity of old smelters (13.9% vs. 2.6%). Genetic polymorphisms for ALAD-1 or ALAD-2 alleles, which play a role in susceptibility to lead toxicity, were not associated with children BBLs. Around 38.5% of houses sampled near the smelters had topsoil lead levels higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s benchmark of 400 mg/kg. Our study resulted in the addition of areas of Pueblo to the EPA Superfund National Priorities List in December 2014, and cleanup is currently underway to minimize the public health risks.
Highlights
The city of Pueblo, Colorado has had a long history of smelting activities [1,2]
We previously conducted a geochemical characterization of topsoil in Pueblo, Colorado to examine the levels of lead and other heavy metals, and generated spatial prediction maps [4]. These findings were used for the sole purpose of categorizing Pueblo into three different regions based on the lead content of the topsoil: Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 3 (Figure 1), in order to examine the impact of proximity to old smelters on blood lead levels (BLLs) in children
The proportion of Pueblo children with reportable BLL in the zone near old smelters (13.9%) is much higher than the national average of 2.6% reported for US children by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2007–2010 [27]
Summary
The city of Pueblo, Colorado has had a long history of smelting activities [1,2]. From 1890 to1921, five smelters operated in the central business area of Pueblo (an area known today as Bessemer).These included the Blend Zinc Smelter ( known as the United States Zinc Company), the ColoradoSmelter ( known as the Boston & Colorado Smelter, or the Eilers Plant), the Massachusetts Smelter ( known as the Ill-Fated New England Smelter), the Philadelphia Smelter, and the Pueblo Smelting and Refining Company. The city of Pueblo, Colorado has had a long history of smelting activities [1,2]. 1921, five smelters operated in the central business area of Pueblo (an area known today as Bessemer). These included the Blend Zinc Smelter ( known as the United States Zinc Company), the Colorado. The CF&I steel mill, which was not a smelter, processed pig iron to produce steel. The remaining two smelters were destroyed in 1921 by the Pueblo’s great flood of the Arkansas River, putting an end to all smelting activities in the city [1,2].
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