Lead | STLPR

A worker waters a property in the Omaha Lead Superfund Site that's been remediated for high levels of lead in the soil.

Kids in the Midwest will get more blood screenings under EPA plan to deal with lead threat

Samantha Horton

Midwestern states, including Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska, exceed the national average of detectable levels of lead in the blood of children. The Environmental Protection Agency released a new plan to reduce lead exposure.

Signs lining Highway 32 protest a proposed silica mine that would span 249 acres in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. Locals worry about the mine’s health implications on the community and environment.

Fight over silica mining rekindles fears about Missouri’s Old Lead Belt

Niara Savage

A company called Nexgen Silica hopes to build a mine in St. Genevieve County. Residents who live with the toxic legacy of lead mining worry history could be repeating itself.

State governments already have funds, provided by federal grants, for schools that voluntarily test their water.

Health, Science & Environment

Missouri governor signs bill requiring schools test, filter water for lead

Jason Hancock

Efforts to eliminate lead in school drinking water got a huge boost on Friday, as Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed off on legislation requiring testing and also gave his approval to $27 million in federal funds to help schools install filters.

An individual holds a lead pipe, a steel pipe and a lead pipe treated with protective orthophosphate. The Environmental Protection Agency is only now requiring water systems to inventory their lead pipes decades after new ones were banned

Health, Science & Environment

'Time bomb' lead pipes are set to be removed. But water utilities have to find them first

Allison Kite

Water utilities have never been required to thoroughly inventory lead pipes except in a crisis. Health experts warn problems with these “underground poisonous straws” can arise out of the blue.

For years, the Lead Industries Association used strategic messaging about its products to dupe Americans about the health hazards of lead.

Health, Science & Environment

How the lead industry misled the public about its toxic problem for decades

Niara Savage

The lead industry characterized lead poisoning as a problem of poor people and minorities to protect its sales during the 20th century.

Lawmakers are close to requiring Missouri schools to test and filter water for lead

Allison Kite

A provision that would limit the amount of lead allowed in school drinking water to five parts per billion has been tacked onto an education bill.

The pandemic forced many large buildings to close, including theaters, schools and stadiums. Researchers warn that the stagnant water sitting in the pipes of these buildings may have accumulated pathogens and heavy metals.

Health, Science & Environment

Missouri Senate overwhelmingly approves bill requiring schools test, filter water for lead

Allison Kite

Missouri would stand apart from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska by requiring testing and remediation.

Carlton Waterhouse (right) is President Joe Biden’s pick for one of the top jobs at the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing the federal government’s superfund cleanups. He toured parts of Missouri contaminated with lead, including residents’ yards in September.

Health, Science & Environment

New funds, strategy may boost ‘massive task’ of reducing lead exposure for Missouri kids

Allison Kite

President Joe Biden has proposed additional money for superfund cleanups, which could speed progress at contaminated sites.

There are more than 330,000 lead pipes in Missouri that carry drinking water into homes and other buildings, the Natural Resources Defense Council estimates.

Health, Science & Environment

Missouri Has Hundreds Of Thousands Of Lead Pipes, Among The Highest In The U.S.

Shahla Farzan

The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates there are at least 330,000 lead pipes funneling tap water into Missouri homes and other buildings — the sixth-highest of any state in the nation.

The city of Quincy did not violate any state or federal laws when it changed its water treatment processes in the months prior to the Legionnaires' outbreak. “It really points out this gap in our regulatory structure that we can have these major changes at the water treatment facility, and not require any additional monitoring or communication with the community,” said William Rhoads, a civil engineer who led the study at Virginia Tech.

Health, Science & Environment

Quincy Made Major Changes To Water Treatment Prior to Legionnaires’ Outbreak

Shahla Farzan

Public records obtained by researchers at Virginia Tech show the city of Quincy changed its water treatment processes in the months leading up to the Legionnaires’ disease outbreak, which may have allowed Legionella bacteria to multiply throughout the water system.