The toxic water of Flint, Michigan, reminded us that lead is a very persistent poison. This week, Reveal investigates the lurking threat of lead from the dust of urban demolitions to the wilds of Wyoming.
Hear how contractors help one another cut corners on demolitions, putting kids at risk, while city officials study the problem. Meet a public health nurse who explains why she advises families to choose a homeless shelter over a lead-tainted apartment, and learn how childhood lead poisoning still affects one man decades later. Progress has been made cleaning up lead. But much remains to be done.
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Head over to revealnews.org for more of our reporting.
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This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
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reveal a mallet today were heading to Detroit
Chelsea Avenue in the northeast part of the city. Some of the house's here have neatly trim lawns and lazy curtains in the windows, others have chicken wire fences and rested our cars and the dry ways, and then there are the abandoned homes with deciding ripped off and windows. Just gaping holes, Detroit
used to be home to nearly two million people then came the collapse of the auto industry between that and white flight. More than half of those people left today for
In seven hundred thousand live in the city of Detroit that mean
There are a lot of vacant homes for the wars rose, ass, Paul sermons, record. His job is using excavator to demolish houses. He works for one of the twenty companies at the city hires to demolish abandoned homes. The city's plan is to knock down forty thousand houses in nine years. That's a dozen houses every single day, Paul's been in this business
for twenty eight years, his dad was a record before boy mygale would bring us the work, and I mean back when he was doin it. They were wrecked the houses, but now the mass than we do now, like you go down the street we'd reckless house where people live in all through here, not now now their streets with only one or two houses listed when we visit
I was getting ready to take down a vacant house, one Chelsea Conway's heavy on your heart, because some lived here a long time. Kids look in his house, someone's gotta get
Social over your house is gone.
Poor bites
the roof with cloggs excavate.
Then he put down the front wall to the house is open, like about all the while, a member of his crew spring the house with a hose hooked up to a fire hydrant that is to keep the dust down within minutes was finished.
And what was once a house is now just a pile of rubble on the ground, but if the demolition isn't done properly,
What is up blowing rounded the air kids get less pleasant by
the distribution of dust from
demolitions or from the soil that is left with lead impregnating. Afterwards, professor, like Thompson,
Wayne State University. Isn't the only one worried about lead poisoning people across the country have been wondering how led might be affecting them and their kids
Recent news broke of contaminated water in Flint Michigan and twenty. Sixteen.
And home demolitions are a huge concern, the federal government.
Doesn't regulate. How contractors should prevent lid from spewing all over the place, so it's done differently across the country.
Rapporteur. I leash O Neill picks up the story in Detroit Southwest
very little bungalow guarded by pitfall straining on his chain. The front line is meat and tidy, but the street is parked with empty lots and vacant burned out houses over this is where actually in Red Smith lit with their family. I ve known each other since they were thirteen
they ve been together, since they were twenty. Thirty four of the rules in this house. The arm chair red, is sitting in has batting coming out of the sea. He seems to barely fit in a chair and the Smiths, and therefore kids seem to barely fit in the living room where they ve all crammed into listen to the interview. A fifth kid
on the way red works as a stay at home, dad obiang modules and allows them to make sure that their
dear love, very modest, bye, bye, he does
It's a lot of red says he quit his job. So Ashley could focus on her career in the mortgage industry and also go back to school. To get her mba. The family can't quite make ends meet so they get a kind of food stamps for mothers and small children. In April of twenty, seventeen Ashley went to review them and she was told one of the requirements would be a led test for her two year old Son, Reggie
or our J r J got the test right away, but the results came later. We got a little with high, arduous bloodless level, with nine no amount of lead is safe, but any level over five is considered. Elevated levels above ten are considered. Poisoning lead in a baby's blood can cause lasting brain damage. Learning disabilities speech delays, hearing loss, a lowered, I q, an increase hyperactivity and aggression Ashley in Red Saint
arduous test results came as a shock finding out about. It was like a bit a big surprise. He was normal use,
is run. Just like you, scared. The shit out of school were fridge you're, the best forces in Detroit. Nearly nine percent of kids under sex, have elevated blood that levels nationally. That numbers only three percent. Let these
A chemical marker there's no way to tell if the leaden in a baby's body came from water window. Seltzer dirt and arduous case was a bit of a puzzle because none of his three older sister suffered from lead poisoning. His parents have
Theory about that is home is over like a hundred years old or sober birds enforcer. So it's a pretty or house in he's a boy's giving frites cake Amira
he coming here. So we let him play a return of the restrictive when he wants to get in the things, and I think he might have without pain on the porch and when they probably got some of them.
There's another way arch. I could have gotten exposed to lead when his sisters word the houses on his block that were demolished around
the time he was found to be led. Poisoned studies in cities like Saint Louis, have shown that living close to a demolition can increase a child's risk of lead poisoning. It all depends on how the demolition has done. Resurgam of experts them handcrafted protocol. That was word for Detroit. This is Brian Farkas, these with the Detroit. But
authority and he's in charge of the city's demolition programme. We actually knock a hole in the roof. The house have a direct nasal spray and therefore two minutes. Soaks entire attic space down runs down the side of the inside of the house
we spoke the entire exterior the house, then we open up the nest and then we take the house down in an
Just that has alone. I must see no destinations, I'm just from the naked eye experts
save their even more thorough protocols out there can't Murray's a professor at the university of
it in Dearborn. He studied the lead dust coming off of demolitions in Detroit Chicago in Baltimore too Baltimore. Do you
into the forest fire horses in the results of their
immigration have been far far better Mary says. The house's demolish in Baltimore were closer together that the house's demolish in Chicago in Detroit
we see far higher concentration. Some lead
additional led to the soil into Jason homes that we saw in Baltimore that focus as those methods would be too expensive for
Detroit, I don't think any city in the country is faced with the eunuchs it.
Patient detroiters right now we ve got a potentially forty thousand thirty thousand left single family homesite scattered across the city.
Our chase family has lived in Detroit for generations, but newcomers to the city are also affected. The Jefferson
Chalmers Neighbourhood is across the city from where the smiths live. It's quiet with stately brick houses and waterfront park, just a few blocks away
Vanessa Rally, Bates in Roberts offered by the house here,
when they move to Detroit from Chicago about five years ago
we may or in the nineteen seventy year get in when it
a little rough around the edges. Prices are super, though be part of an artist movement
and then just and then watch it all bloom from them, so to speak, Roberts contractor who just historic renovation of old houses evidence has been a Saint Oman ever since their son forest
two years ago, foresters
include shorts and those kids sandals that covered most of the foot and buckled around the ankle. He wants to go out
where
right now and you are going
stands irish right
you're talking about Robert Inverness are typical, proud parents,
about how sensitive and sweet forest is. How many words
she knows,
we started out. Number one was bear on this list.
Ball. Verve Dexter. Yes, it are data monolith,
when he knows all kinds of boats to the even keep a list of those words on the refrigerator?
lastly, we ve been keeping close tabs on forest development ever since his one year, checkup at the pediatrician. That's when forest blood was first tested for lead,
pediatrician came back and he said all his elbows are our high there quite high, and I civil would this high noon and in and he said,
Well, we like to see a Andrey three five is
for concern. Tan is lead,
Poisoning and near China has twenty one. So.
Vanessa, says she couldn't eat. For weeks after that appointment, I have definitely fa, except to my stomach
baby has poison. In his body an inspector came to the house,
soon found led under the drip lying outside. They also founded inside
like twice
Willy nilly, especially found it inside of the window. Sill wells. They found it like
suddenly on the board and that's a low strange and which really about there being planned,
windows. Eight. These aren't old windows, know their replacement windows, in other words the windows themselves,
have no lead on then Sir Robert thinks lead us must have come from outside the house. These windows.
Double sashes screen on the signs of a storm anything come in
the screen and sit in the trough, even if the
does your clothes when you open window, actually just get whatever's. You know outside blown writer and robbery, thinks he knows where that lead dusk came from this summer
was led poisoned his dad witness to demolitions just kitty corner from the families home where you home. When that I'm not sure I watched it yes,
is actually represent. Not done, let save Robertson certified by safe contract
they were taking the wood Sherman, throwing out the windows. That's a problem because it would trim of old
this is usually covered with lead paint and when they demolishes irreparable without
utter no water used whatsoever. Contractors working for the city aren't supposed to do dry, demolitions, brain Farkas, the guy in charge of Detroit wrapped up demolition programme, will tell you one of the biggest challenges since the beginning has been enforcing the rules, the city
for its contractors. You can write the strongest speck. You are sitting down town, but if you're not enforcing it out in the field,
you create a culture where cutting corners,
says rewarded for my country to another and take action,
time and money
how's spray house down and and soak a while, it's been demolished. If I'm seeing a guy over there whose bidding me not doing it.
If a demolition is done without water led pay,
can turn into led dust. They can travel nearly six hundred feet reaching about
when tea houses from the sight of the demolition? When I first spoken,
when twenty sixteen Fergus tool mean, if demolitions were causing led to turn up in children's blood? He look at you.
Is demolishing. Homes are overseeing contractors, we're hyper
for sensitive about the health implications of demolition, if we are causing a problem, when I know about it before anyone else does
So we can make adjustments immediately. Here's the thing most cases are clear: cut like forests, their roylake Ardiaeus. We there a bunch of ways the child could have been exposed to lead, as with forest after Archie was found to be led, poisoned and inspector came to the Smiths House and looked in every corner for lead. They came in ITALY
everyone every law, every few surgery, I jars, everything it as did every toy
the soil, the water was fine, but the soil things
like lead was in there in the feed they put new tab. Slow though we cover with rocks most Detroit. Soil has some lead in it thanks to years of heavy industry, but
can't Murray Study found Detroit demolitions, add even more led to the soil. Theirs
are we to know exactly how led got into the smiths soil? The inspector found led inside the House tomb and the Smiths gotta grant from the state to fix a lot of the
problem have. This? Is
Windows, a new rule. The roof
3tv news eat all waiting. There was so much that I want to do, but I couldn't do because kids, you know you,
Clearly, the steady other, it's kind of heart breaking to think about red, had wanted to fix up the house,
she he couldn't, because he couldn't get house
She says she also wishes they could have fixed the house earlier. I guess you like ha ha taken. Mr a lot
parents and blaming themselves. They wonder. Could I have done something differently when in many cases there isn't anything they could have done in
jeez. Situation is similar to what's happening to toddlers nation wide, especially african Americans, in more than twice ass likely to be led poisoned as white kids in detail.
Great public health, commissioner, Abdul outside studied how demolitions, where affecting lead, poisoning his wrist,
came out in January last year. We
not rule out the possibility that there was some increased risk of elevated blood led among children who live close to a demolition.
Specifically the study, found that, during war months when windows, I left open children living within a block or so of a city demolition, we're twin
three percent, more likely to have increased blood bud bubbles
we're two or more demolitions. There were forty percent more likely a month after the study came out.
Did he taskforce made recommendations on how to make the demolition programmes safer
the including notifying residents about when demolitions are happening and what their health risks are so reviews
I left a work. The houses there I came back. The house was gone. Elisa Lee lives in southeast a train not too far from our forests lives. We were
The house was gone, Elisa Lee lives in Southeast Detroit, not too far from our forests lives. We were not
notified that their voluntary DOW we, I worldly I wasn't- I came back- the house was gone, debris was, let even bear they have
Everything I was just a whole. I did find one neighbor had been notified prior
The recent demolition but you'd only
de jure hangar, advising her too closed doors and windows and keep pets and children inside the hanging
had no information about led. The taskforce also called for better monitoring to make sure contractors are following the city's rules.
Ass. The demolition contractor Paul Sherman about that, and he told me it's not happening by their contractors. You have bad reputation
fractures miss most of his demolitions because they happen in the span of just a few minutes and he says:
Sherman told me: the inspectors miss most of his demolitions because they happen in the span of just a few minutes, and he says contractors warn each other about surprise visits from the States department of environmental quality or d.
Go call always gets a over somewhere. You just wrote about me around for our brother, Alfred Shudder, saying it
I'm over here Youtube just rolled upon me there in the neighborhood rock alibi for each other, saying it was the same by again trouble no waters. Twenty five thousand our fine I present information back to school
Batman, he's a task force member and a professor of environmental health at the University of Michigan. Those demolition contractor told me real. Have friends worked pretty other contractors, so we know when he was right.
We call each other and say turn your water on. I thought that was an interesting, urgent
this is why everyone needs to be demolitions. I filed a freedom of Information ACT, request for
this problem by measuring led in the soil and air near recent demolitions, I filed a freedom of Information ACT request for both kinds of monitoring. The answer came back no such
its exist, no one's. Following up on that promise, I called in
mouthed brain Farkas over several months to follow up with him after the Seti came out. He declined to comment once led is found in the blood of kids. Like our Jane there's, only a couple of things. Doctors can,
you give the medicine to try to remove the lead or an arduous case, use a special diet. They really stressed
one water, water, water, water- if you haven't you
pour water in his foe year. They want more diapers more when milk can also help, because the calcium competes with the lead for absorption
fruits and vegetables can help carry led out of the body. You, though,
think about children. If you were a very early age, they will not know the difference. I interviewed the Smiths last summer since then actually
tested for lead to make sure her baby wasn't being exposed thanks to the remodel she was in the clear on New year's day. The Smiths Fifth child was born a baby boy. They named
Terrio actually tells me Ardiaeus doing well. He talks a lot. He knows all his colors lots of animals
and he's trying to learn his letters. Headstart preschool in the fall things too early.
Showed near for bringing the sad story. I least tells us there
instead of monitoring the air and soil for lead. Detroit is continuing to give blood letters to children.
Professor battlements, as those tests can help the city figure out. If it's doing enough,
History study here is a way of providing surveillance in the success of the programme, so
I also recommended that this kind of study be repealed.
Each year to see what kind of progress were making the critic say that studies backwards.
They believe Detroit should be the miles in homes slowly and carefully. So
it's never really need to test children for lit
and then there is another question: what happened to lead poisoned kids when they grow up? I just feel
there we were collateral damage to make money for the industry. That's next on review
from the centre for investigative reporting. Mp are ex
from the centre for investigative reporting and p R. Ex this is reveal a mallet today, we're looking at different ways that lead gets into people's lives in our homes and water, the air and dirt. Our children playing led affects kids all around the country. Reporters and
the Johnson amorous or take a Welsh, have been working on a series for K. Ale, W investigating
in the San Francisco Bay area for about a year. Morrison Angela welcome Fang thing here. So tell us what you learned there are these.
In Oakland around in the fruit certain zip code, certain neighborhoods kids have really high levels of lead, and one of those poisoning is right here,
in California in the fruit male neighbourhood, seven percent of kids in the fridge
Neighbourhood of Oakland, California have lead poisoning. What is it about the fruit
malaria. That makes all these lead cases pop
all these potential sources, and that's where kids in Armenia County are getting lead, poisoning from the homes, letters and euro toxin, it kills brain cells, so kids, brains under the age of six are still developing. If they are poisoned by led, that's can effect.
Let us ensure a toxin, it kills brain cells, so kids brains under the age of six are still developing. If they are poisoned by lad, that's can affect their long term brain health. So what does it look like an acute look? Good child gets lead poisoning. What did the symptoms lead? Poisoning symptoms? Are things like
be sending your kid off to school every day, thinking that they just don't sit still well in class or their fighting alive.
A lot of kids under the age of six might have right. So you could be sending your kid after school every day, thinking that they just don't sit still well in class or their fighting a lot with their siblings. When, actually,
is going on. Is they ve got lead? Poisoning is irreversible. Leg wants a child gets
poisoning is Ernie coming back from now
the neurological damages is done. You can remove lead from the blood you can remove lead from the body, but those long term effects will be there for the rest of the child's life
getting the bones. It stays in the bones, citizen the teeth and it will release over time. So it's the sort of slow drip toxin. This slow drip killer. So maybe the most famous case,
of lead poisoning that Americans can think
right now is what's going on in Flint Michigan, which still doesn't have clean water,
How does that compared? What's happening in these oakland? Well with me,
earlier about how the
if our neighbourhood in Oakland is this hot pocket of lead, poisoning. Seven percent of kids and approval neighbourhood of Oakland have a high led level, a level above five micrograms per deciliter of blood. Some percent flip Michigan, five percent of those kids had lead poisoning.
And we had a national public health crisis that was making the nightly news for four days. It still not solved we're still
we're not talking about an enough but Oakland. Actually,
has a higher percentage of kids who are led poison and we're not talking about it. So, as part of you reporting you
followed around a nurse who is trying to help kids that had been poisoned by
in their homes
I'm not six. I can hold here. We got to tag along with the Epp and she visits
to see because I saw their hospital after you anymore,
I'm not six, I can hold. You may go to tag along with
gap as she visits these families does her case work. She is
dealing with about thirty new cases. Every year, she's working without a hundred fifty families at work,
times alive it's alive,
It shows she's, very passionate about her work, she's very animated, but calling seems like she never stops working. She works on the weekends she works when she can visit eight, so that means going to their house after work going in the morning. Calling
Charles she knows all these families to. Even though she's dealing with a hundred and fifty and at a time somebody is growing up fast. He was like
before now he's old. She is part of it department of people who to
out and actually repaint homes and do other support surfaces all
She whispers and then show yell something really loudly, so she was. You know, she's really really passion about this work, and she tells us that sometimes she doesn't sleep at night because she is worried about.
Something really loudly. So she was. You know she's really really passion about this work and she tells us that
sometimes she doesn't sleep at night, because she is worried about what is going to do the next morning. So what'd you do
like. I mean you guys, embedded whither traveled around the county, whether what exactly does she do when a kid, and I need a county test high for lead, poisoning, she's deployed to their house. I've seen appearance going to shock most of them
anxious some feel guilty and go into denial. That is not good for the child, because
and you know you don't want to work with us- they perfectly slammed the door in our faces and how kinda recover. If we don T,
the family, the forcing she's doing, is she's helping them determine where the lead is coming from, and then the county has some resources to even try to do some lead abatement, but she's
so doing things like nutrition counselling, their certain foods that kids can be eating to help with lead poisoning to help keep the body
absorbing lad and then one of the most important things that she's doing as helping these families find new housing because one of the best ways-
to bring down. A child's levels is to remove the source of lead, and if you can't pain over at our landlord is unwilling to fix peeling pain. You have to get the child out of the house. One of the shocking things we learn from her is that sometimes she actually has to refer a family and TAT
you go to a homeless shelter
my job to make sure that if they want to move in order for the child to recover from lead poisoning, but they can afford to, I have to find him how to get free housing, that's affordable. So that's another part of my job. Yes, we don't know,
social workers. Other nursing programmes have their own social workers. Are these one? We don't have any, so I put them in a homeless shelter because one day in the shelter, their chance of getting all pulling affordable and less safe housing jumps up.
They're more likely to get affordable housing when there in a homeless shelter rather than just looking
on the barrier,
low income family moves out there.
Aubrey owners
pained and remind all the apartment
the house and can charge now bore triple the price we had. We put an end to this
the problem of kids been poisoned in their homes and immediate. It seems preventable. So, besides gentrifying
neighbourhood, what's a solution, but is preventable
that would just be making sure that when kids-
when to a home, there's no let in the home and there
are examples around the country of city.
In areas that have tried to remove
sources by doing these rental inspection programmes, where landlords would be responsible before they could rents their partner.
To a family to make sure that the apartment was tested for Latin, that the sources were removed and we found this example and Rochester New York that really reduced childhood lead poisoning rates by a lie
they committed to proactively inspecting all readily units in the city, and
in the ten years that they did, that they brought their childhood levels down by eighty percent, and so our meat account either the healthy homes department, the lead, Poisoning prevention programme. They ve been trying to get Oakland City Council to adopt something similar to that Rochester model for almost a decade and it for many different reasons. It keeps getting push
but that's what they want to do. Other countries around the world band lead paint. As early as nineteen twenties,
U S got around to nineteen seventy eight! Here we are in twenty eighteen and theirs
kids were getting led poisoned, so they saw huge number.
It's it's. Certainly a number of kids in Oakland who are continuing to be poisoned by something that we have known for. Basically, a hundred years is something we shouldn't have in our environment.
Now I have to work harder because our plan was for listening to be gone eradicated by two thousand and ten.
Yet we still getting too many cases. Oakland and other cities around California are supposed to give money to help their lead, cleaner programmes. After that,
one. A six hundred million dollar lawsuit against three paint companies, but the key.
Please have so far refused to pay their instead
trying to get a measure on the state ballot, asking voters to reverse that court decision and have taxpayers cover the
bill for more and Angela Morris's reporting on lead in San Francisco EAST Bake. Listen to their series of those radio stories are available on K, L W Start O Archie Funky is public
your station in the system. Thank you.
We're coming it thanks for having a thank. You dear, tread the public health nurse. We just heard from works to prevent lead poisoning in kids. So what happens to children who are exposed to high levels of lead
Go up with no treatment. Idaho Silver Valley is one place to look
the green none allows them back when the smell through was gone. I was all brown. Minors have been digging silver zinc and led out of the mountains there. Since the late eighteen, hundreds in nineteen, seventeen, the Bunker Hill Mining Company, opened a lead. Smelter
valley to get the valuable metal out of the rocks. Paul grew up in Kellogg and smelt urville towns on either side of the smelter desolate
here was my mom and step. That's house. I lived in between that house in the old woman smelter during past childhood. That smelter was going
Full blast- oh I remember
the metal feeling in your teeth. For me, I remember not being able to see across the playground as it was so smoky it was. It was bad for went to Silver King Grade School, it's gone out, but back then it was just down here.
Smelter it was their waste water. I believe they ran right behind the school,
because I remember if a ball when over the fence or anything it was gone, you know get in the way.
Water coming out of the smelter in nineteen. Seventy three, a fire, barely damage, was called the bag house of Smelt. That's the place with filters to control air pollution
Paul was a toddler, then. Do you remember anything about them?
thing I remember from there. Is it eight to pay offer
car in front of her house, so they gave my dad a check to get a paying job. Physiognomy
currently working together repaying it. It ate the paint off of your father's car
people talk about this was just like. You know an open secret that
No one really said anything me and my friends talk about it behind closed doors. I just feel like tat. We
collateral damage to
money for the industry- has how I feel that this feeling of being collateral damage is so strong support, because, after that, fire the smelter kept running but with sharply reduce pollution controls, led exposure shot up dramatically, but people didn't know or they put their jobs. First,
minors kept mining and kids kept doing? What kids do? My thing was scolded leg in water scare? That's what I like about school itself. Did you, like guns,
No, I wasn't I hated school, I had all kinds of problems in school
Tell me about him. What was going on? I just didn't. I was frustrated overtime, pay, schoolwork Brussels
the concentrating mean who was too much for me as far as
organizing anything or planning anything Hijjus,
that's really really difficult for me to do, and it really frustrated
about your memory. Is here? Is your memory go now
sometimes they know gate
times. I don't remember a lot of things in the months after the bag House fire lit emissions from the smelter averaged almost thirty times.
Then the clean AIR Act allowed the year Paul turn for local health officials, start testing
lead. Ninety nine percent of the children living within a mile of smelter had lead levels in their blood considered hazardous. Even then, you are tested for lead three times as a kid why'd. You do it because they asked as to how we did it because they pay. This money is kids. If you go get your lead testing,
you got fifteen dollars or something that's why we did. It would pose nine eleven and twelve years old. His blood lead levels ran between twenty and thirty micrograms per deciliter. Cdc guidelines now say kids with that much lead in their blood mean to get checked out by a doctor right away.
So did you get help right away? I were, I didn't even know I wasn't. Even at all, I didn't even know my levels tell two thousand for did your parents, they said they didn't pull, got his test results from local health officials when he was thirty three years old,
how did you feel when you first saw the tests that you took as a kid and saw those numbers were? I went to
my doctor. He said there
were nothing to be concerned about
I know that many of my friends have lots of problem. So I, when the computers came out, I researched it. Man I learned effort. Paul has had many problems that have long been tied to childhood. Let exposure trouble learning dropping out of school hypertension
after poor quit school, he worked in the mining industry. I was seventeen. I worked. The bunker hill with my dad
like the law, ledges did differently
Miss HOLLAND Mark in staff in his dad experience, another dockside of mining, one of the deadliest. U S, mind: fires back in nineteen.
Eighty to ninety one minors were killed. Paul's dad run floor was rescued after spending a week. Four thousand feet undergoes
cried the barrier in our own minds that, where there are doing they get down
We knew that had come down there to get us out. This is wrong talking to a local new station, twenty ten really good. Bearing do get out when we got out he passed away last year,
What was your dad's take on the pollution he knew about it? He was something
bothered? Him is. I think
He knew there.
In fact, the add on me, I think it was something tat he really didn't deal with our work.
A deal with until just before he passed will lose his thoughts
Let me what did he say? Do you know what to say? He is
just a really messed up subject there was, he didn't know what to say before you understood what was going on with the lead poisoning. Did you have any suspicions that was lead? Poisoning
like how did that all play? Oh yeah women, we kind of new because there were settlements. They were. There were a bunch of settlements and a bunch of
People laughed, I mean many something was governor wheedle
oh, how many children the lead harmed in the Silver Valley, but a study of nearly three hundred adults who grew up there at the same time as Paul
found? They had significantly more neuro psychiatric symptoms than a control group. The mining company settled one lawsuit brought on behalf of my children. For about ten million dollars. Class action followed ending with payments to three dozen more kids,
says his family didn't sue because they were sure how to go about it at the time. What is justice look like to you? I would
like to have somebody
it knows about let's sit down and talk to me about a doktor. Now would be the biggest thing for me
who still offers free, led tests, people living in the area. Thirty five years ago, Kellogg and Smelterville were declared a part of a toxic superfund site in two thousand and two that was expanded to contaminated sites over one thousand five hundred square miles a lot
cleaned up, but families in the Silver Valley are still told not to let their kids play in the dirt,
doing the show I learned lead poisoning happens even in the wild on Wednesday, we dropping another podcast where we go alchymic with a bird biologists,
I am convinced hunters to use not lead bullets output applauding for further eagles to use murmured, no yeah yeah,
Where is what happens to the eagles about two thirds of the eagles? We test out here on earth.
In the park. Have elevated learn about a third have poisoning levels from their fragmentation in the gut interesting and what happens to the people who ve helpmeet find out Wednesday
thanks Emily Harris would bring in a story from Idaho's Silver Valley, Michael Schiller, producer stories
pausing in Oakland, Norstar Chaskey
Montgomery. Also helped out today, show, along with editor Deb George
remember, to check out, reveal news that or for coverage of the trunk administration and the environment
Such a measure is Monday. Canosa are sound anxiety,
the dynamic do o J Breezy, Mr Jim Briggs.
Fernando my man, YO, a router, are acting
yo is Crystal shot from work. Any Pasok are editor in chief executive producers, Kevin Sullivan Athenians because by Colorado, lightning soup,
reveals provided by the Raven David Logan Foundation, the John D in County Macarthur Foundation. The Jonathan Logan fail.
They foundation before Foundation, the Housing Simons Foundation and the ethics and excellence in journalism foundation reveal is a cold.
Some of the centre for investigative reporting and p r x amount lesson and remember. There is always more to the story.
These are last few shows of the year, and let me tell you in twenty twenty we are bringing the fire launching some of our most ambitious projects we ve ever done. I can wait for you to hear them reveal is all about going deep, pulling on threads
telling stories that matter and this kind of investigative journalism. Well, it takes time and it costs money. These are the final weeks
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Transcript generated on 2019-12-20.