Federal, state groups report high levels of lead in the air in Palmerton

Clare Papay lives about a mile from American Zinc Recycling in Palmerton. She is one of many parents who were concerned when a report from a federal agency came out this summer saying that airborne lead from the site posed a health hazard to pregnant women and young children.

On Tuesday, she attended a town hall at the Aquashicola Fire Co. to suggest that the state consider a blood-lead testing program in response to the hazard.

“We’re not talking about the past anymore. We’re talking about a facility that’s operating right now in our town, which is posing a threat to our children,” she said.

At least one parent in attendance said her children tested positive for elevated levels of lead.

On July 31, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry issued a report which said an air quality monitor showed elevated levels of lead in the air surrounding American Zinc Recycling. The report said the levels of lead being released into the air by American Zinc Recycling created a public health hazard within 3 miles of the facility.

American Zinc Recycling operates at the former east plant of the Palmerton Zinc Company, using the company’s old furnaces to recycle metal containing zinc.

Tuesday night, representatives from the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection provided background on how the agency ended up looking for health hazards from the site, and what is being done since the hazard was identified.

An EPA official said an air quality monitor was first installed near the plant in 2012, after the company reported they were releasing more than a half ton per year of lead emissions.

DEP, which operated the air quality monitor, noted that the lead levels exceeded the national standard.

In January 2017, they contacted the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which created a computer model based on air quality readings, and determined there was likely a public health hazard for young children and pregnant women. The meeting was held to explain that process.

“We felt it was important to be here in person to give some background information about why (the report was requested), give you some information that’s in the report, as well as findings and recommendations, and explain what that means to you as members of the community, said Terri White, EPA spokeswoman.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, lead poisoning can put mothers at risk of miscarriage, damage a baby’s brain and nervous system, or cause learning and behavior problems.

The agency made several recommendations: That parents get blood tests for their children and discuss concerns with their doctor; the state discuss outreach to increase blood-lead screening; and that DEP and EPA continue to monitor air quality, soil quality and emissions sources.

Palmerton-area residents expressed a wide range of concerns about the public health threat.

One parent said she lives across the street from the plant and her children have elevated levels of lead.

Another parent questioned whether people who have lived in the borough a long time should get bone testing done in addition to blood testing, because it would show the cumulative amount of lead in their bodies.

One questioned why it had taken until 2018 to say there was a public health threat, when DEP knew the plant was emitting high levels of lead into the air back in 2010, and had a monitoring station set up in 2012.

DEP said the air lead levels would have been acceptable until 10 years ago, when the benchmark was lowered by a factor of 10.

DEP said it has sent notices of violation to American Zinc Recycling multiple times this year, but it is currently working with them on correcting the issues.

As recommended by the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, DEP recently started testing soil for elevated lead levels. The testing will take place in areas like schools, day cares and parks where children are likely to come in contact with the dirt.

It will be looking for lead and other heavy metals.

It will target areas, which were shown in a computer model to have high concentrations of lead.

The computer model showed the area where lead contamination was most likely was north of town. The highest levels in the computer model were near Palmerton Junior-Senior High School.

Some parents wanted to know when they would learn the results of the lead testing.

An official said some results would be instantaneous, but he would rather confirm it in a lab before releasing it to the public.