examine whether the prevalence of low birth
dren living in the mining waste and smelter area
weight, infants' being small for gestational age,
of Jasper County, Missouri, have been effective.
or preterm birth is elevated in areas with high
In part because of the health education program,
the number of children with high levels of lead
Occupational Health Sciences Institute plans to
in their blood (greater than 10 micrograms per
develop a database system using environmen-
deciliter) dropped by 86% in 10 years.
tal and chronic disease data from New Jersey
Blood lead levels declined on average by 2.42
and Washington. The institute will evaluate
micrograms per deciliter between 1991 and
hypotheses of potential environmental causes of
chronic disease and will recommend and design
lead levels greater than or equal to 10 micro-
specific studies.
grams per deciliter in 1991 was 14%, but in
In addition, the program conducted four expert
2000, children living in the same area had com-
panel workshops to determine the feasibility of
parative blood lead levels of only 2%.
establishing tracking of the high priority dis-
The intervention efforts launched since 1991
eases. The panels were as follows:
included a health education campaign that
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
incorporated lead poisoning awareness in the
panel
local school curricula and that developed a lead
poisoning prevention merit badge for a local
multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral
Girl Scouts' chapter. Health educators made
sclerosis panel
presentations at grand rounds in local hospitals
autoimmune panel (Hashimoto's thyroiditis,
and distributed flyers and other materials to
rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and sys-
raise awareness about childhood lead poisoning
temic lupus)
and its prevention. In addition, EPA removed
autism panel.
lead-contaminated soil from more than 2,300
yards in the area.
Jasper County Superfund
Evaluation of Neurobehavioral
Site Childhood 2000 Lead
Health Status for Chronic and
Study, Missouri
Repeated Exposure to
The Missouri Department of Health conducted
Hydrogen Sulfide, Dakota City
an ATSDR-funded study to assess whether
and South Sioux City, Nebraska
public health intervention efforts in Jasper
County, Missouri, had been effective in reduc-
Since the early 1990s, residents of Dakota City
ing blood lead levels of the community's chil-
and South Sioux City, Nebraska, have been
dren. ATSDR and its partners in the state and
exposed to elevated concentrations of ambi-
local health departments had worked with the
community of Jasper County, Missouri, on ways
residents reported odor and adverse health
to reduce exposure to lead, which was processed
symptoms (respiratory and neurologic) that
in the area for many years.
were thought to be related to these exposures. In
response to community health concerns about
The results of the study indicated that educa-
tional and environmental interventions initiated
Dakota City and South Sioux City, ATSDR con-
since 1991 to reduce blood lead levels of chil-
48 chapter 3
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