EPA Approves Doe Run's Plans For Lead Shipping

Date: June 27, 2002

Source: News Room

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved Doe Run Co.'s plan to ship lead to its smelter in Herculaneum, Mo. in ways that reduce contamination in the community. The transportation plan is part of Doe Run's $12 million, government-ordered cleanup in Herculaneum, home to the nation's largest lead smelter. Doe Run's cleanup efforts include daily street cleaning, replacing soil in yards and along shipping routes and cleaning home interiors. In its shipping plan, Doe Run agreed to build a wash facility for trucks entering or leaving the smelter. It also coded routes throughout the smelter grounds based on contamination risk, and will manage traffic through high-risk areas. About 45 percent of children living near the smelter had high levels of lead in their blood, state tests last year showed. The community of about 2,800 people is 30 miles south of St. Louis.

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