By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
In Eureka, residents do not want their kids to play in
the dirt, and mud pies are out.
Contaminants have been shown in the soils in many
areas in Eureka. The Environmental Protection Agency has
released results of dust, water and soil tests to residents
and have prepared a map showing the "hot" spots in the
community.
Several months ago, officials with the Environmental
Protection Agency and the Utah Health Department began to
investigate problems with lead and arsenic levels in
Eureka's soil. Now that the testing has been done it is
clear restorative measures need to be taken.
"The soil around my home will need to be replaced,"
said Joseph Bernini, Juab County Commissioner. "I think we
need to get things taken care of as soon as possible. It is
the health of the children which should be our primary
concern."
In some places, a foot of topsoil will be hauled away
and replaced with uncontaminated dirt. Bernini said he
believes restoration will start with playgrounds and the
park area.
Test results for the dust gathered from a home in the
residential heart of the town, at 210 West Leadville, show
41.9 milligrams of arsenic present per kilogram and 773
milligrams of lead present per kilogram. The lead levels
found in the dust nearly double the maximum amount
considered safe.
Copies of results show measurements of 23 heavy
metals&emdash;including lead, arsenic, selenium, cadmium and
chromium&emdash;present in dust and paint inside homes and
in tap and well water.
"There will be more extensive research now into what
has caused hot spots," said Wm. Boyd Howarth, commission
chair. He said all three commissioners attended the town
meeting, held recently, to hear the information which was
being released as a result of the completed testing.
"Many residents hauled dirt from the mine sites to
their homes to use as fill," said Robert Steele,
commissioner. "That may account for the checkerboard
pattern."
The map that county commissioners displayed at
commission meeting on Monday showed a strange pattern of hot
spots located, in several cases, next to cool spots. It
looked like a piece-work quilt arranged in squares of the
varying colors used by officials to show the varying degrees
of contamination. "A hot spot, in a square shape, is located
next to a less hot spot," Howarth pointed out on the map.
"The pattern occurs all over the community but there are
some areas where there is a higher concentration of
dangerous levels of contaminants."
Tests on the soils have shown the average lead
concentration in town is 1,472 parts per million with a hot
spot reading in one area of 22,000 ppm.
House dust at one of the 504 homes tested registered
5,330 ppm. The average concentration was 739 ppm or lower,
said Al Lange, on-scene coordinator for the EPA.
Anything above 400 ppm in soils is cause for concern,
according to EPA toxicologist Susan Griffin. Tests on the
culinary water and paints in the homes registered well
within safety range levels, she said.
Lange said corrective measures will start as soon as
he has funding. "How much we do will depend on the amount of
money we receive and when," he said.
A form letter accompanying the results says levels
less than 400 milligrams per kilogram of lead and less than
100 milligrams per kilogram of arsenic are not considered
health risks. The letter also says that higher readings do
not necessarily mean a threat exists.
Test results of tap water show 3.4 micrograms per
liter of arsenic and 2.3 micrograms per liter of lead.
Levels below 10 micrograms of arsenic and 15 micrograms of
lead are deemed safe.
A level of 5.7 micrograms per liter of thallium,
nearly three times the amount considered safe, was reported
in the tap water of one home tested. Thallium is a known
cancer-causing element that comes from dust produced from
the smelting of lead and zinc.
Of 18 children tested, one showed alarmingly high
blood levels of lead, 40 micrograms per deciliter. Below 10
micrograms per deciliter is considered harmless. Most
children tested fell in the 15 to 20 range.
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