From the archives | Senate digs into 'ghost factory' risk: Effect of lead on kids is explored

This story originally published on July 13, 2012. It is being republished as part of the commemoration of USA TODAY's 40th anniversary on Sept. 15, 2022.

A senator questioned federal environmental health officials at a hearing Thursday about what is being done to address lead-poisoning risks posed by soil around hundreds of old factory sites featured in a USA TODAY probe.

"Generations of children are growing up playing in the shadow of these lead-smelting plants," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. "The USA TODAY report shows lead contamination has had a devastating impact. It's obvious we could help fix this problem if the EPA had the resources to fully test and clean up" the sites.

Lautenberg commented during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the latest science on the effects lead has on children's bodies.

The studies show that even small exposures are associated with reduced IQ, increased ADHD and other health problems in children, scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"No safe blood-lead level for children has been identified," said Christopher Portier, director of the CDC's environmental health center.

Although lead-based paint is the best-known source of lead poisoning, a USA TODAY investigation this year revealed dangers posed by lead-contaminated soil around forgotten factory sites that spewed lead particles into neighborhoods for decades before closing in the 1960s or 1970s. Soil also can be contaminated from years of leaded gasoline emissions. Children can ingest lead particles by putting dusty toys or hands in their mouths.

John Vandenberg, an EPA official, testified that exposures to lead come from multiple sources, such as lead dust, paint chips, drinking water and soil. Portier said the No. 1 source for young children is lead-based paint.

The CDC in May changed the federal definition of lead poisoning, reducing by half the standard for lead levels in a child's body that should trigger protective actions. The CDC estimates that more than 500,000 U.S. children have blood-lead levels above the new standard.

During the hearing, Lautenberg expressed concern about a former smelter site in Carteret, N.J., featured in USA TODAY's "Ghost Factories" series. Only the factory property was cleaned up, he noted. The EPA never tested nearby homes for contamination. USA TODAY did and found dangerous levels of lead in the soil.

"It means, over multiple administrations of both parties, we've failed to protect these families whose lives and futures hang in the balance," Lautenberg said, noting the Carteret site was one of more than 230 featured by the newspaper. He asked what the EPA can do to address contamination in such communities.

Vandenberg replied, "I can say EPA is aware of these issues, and our discussions are ongoing."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lead exposure causing health problems in children near factories