HELENA — East Helena residents who are within the Administrative Boundary of the Superfund site are encouraged to receive free blood lead testing.
"The lead testing is just another opportunity, if you have concerns, that's available for you. And, you know, it's all about making sure our people are safe and that we're cleaning this town up to make sure it's a safe and nice place to live," says Kelly Harris, Mayor of East Helena.
The East Helena ASARCO site was contaminated with lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals following decades of operation and in 1984, the EPA classified it as a Superfund site.
Now the East Helena Lead Education and Assistance Program (LEAP), a project of Lewis and Clark Public Health, has partnered with St. Peter’s Health and is offering free testing to East Helena residents who live within the boundary of the Superfund site.
The testing will give residents a better idea of how much lead is within their system. East Helena is still undergoing massive remediation efforts to clean up lead in the ground.
The EPA recently designated $40 million in funding as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to go towards residential lead clean-up efforts in East Helena.
"They've gone amazing, you know. It's, you can look around the nation, other superfund sites, it's, they don't go nearly as smooth. People in East Helena can see the progress. They can see the work that they're doing," says Harris.
Beth Norberg, Environmental Health Specialist with Lewis and Clark Public Health encourages all individuals in East Helena, especially children, to get tested.
Children are at exceptional risk to lead which can result in developmental disabilities. If high lead levels are detected, mitigation efforts can then take place.
"Lead and lead poisoning has long-term effects, health effects, and when, especially in children, children are like little lead magnets, and they hold on to lead and it gets into the bloodstream, and it doesn't really leave the bloodstream as quickly as say in an adult. So, it's really important for us to catch kids early, identify if they have lead poisoning so that we can implement those protective measures as soon as possible," says Norberg.
