EPA says roads to SEMO port could have lead contamination

The EPA says lead contamination may have affected roads along the way to the SEMO Port, but tests of soils along those roads haven't been conducted yet.

Dianna Whitaker, a public affairs specialist with the EPA based in Kansas City, Mo., said Monday that shipments of lead concentrate from the Doe Run Co. could have contaminated soils along the roads leading from Doe Run's mines and smelter in the lead belt to the SEMO Port.

Doe Run trucks haul lead concentrate to the port where it is loaded onto barges for international shipping. Doe Run has a long history of problems associated with lead contamination of soils and air in the lead belt, and recently the company has come under increased scrutiny from the EPA for lead contamination along trucking routes. The EPA and Doe Run recently negotiated an agreement to reduce the contamination along trucking routes.

A lead concentrate spill occurred at the SEMO Port in early 2004 when some of the substance was accidentally dumped in the harbor. Port director Dan Overbey said the company and the port are now taking further steps to prevent contamination, including building a new warehouse to store the concentrate and a new system for loading the lead concentrate onto barges.