Lakehurst Acres residents’ tests indicate lead in blood

http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/3147510.shtml?com_sent=1

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Lakehurst Acres residents’ tests indicate lead in blood

By GLEN BOLDUC

Staff Writer

Copyright © 2006 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

MANCHESTER — A majority of the residents at Lakehurst Acres who were tested for lead over the past two weeks showed low traces of the metal in their blood, according to state toxicology tests.

The tests were taken after abnormally high levels of lead were found earlier this month in the drinking water of the 25-unit housing complex on Pond Road. Officials have since determined the development’s water pipes corroded, releasing the lead into the water.

About 30 of the estimated 40 residents currently living at Lakehurst Acres have been tested, said Andrew Smith, state toxicologist for the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ideal lead levels in adults should be below 25 micrograms per deciliter, and below 10 micrograms in children, Smith said. Most of the tests taken at Lakehurst were below these limits, he said, with many falling under 5 micrograms per deciliter.

“They clearly indicate exposure,” he said of the test results. “But these are not the levels where there’s going to be any clinical intervention.”

For some of the residents at Lakehurst, the lead tests are the latest in a series of issues with the drinking water there.

“It irritates me,” said Seamus Pike. “But more than that, it’s really been stressful.”

Three weeks ago, Pike brought home his newborn son, Axel. That same day, he got a notice from C&C Realty Management of Augusta, which manages Lakehurst, saying that lead was discovered in the drinking water, and that residents should be tested.

“We’re getting him re-tested every week,” Seamus said of his son.

Axel has had a steady blood-lead level of 9 micrograms per deciliter. Seamus’ results originally reached 24, but last week decreased to 22.

“Pretty much every day I’m at the doctor,” he said. “They’re questioning me, whether I’m still taking in the water.”

Late last month, residents of Lakehurst Acres were told by C&C Realty that they should see a doctor after water tests indicated that lead levels were more than 100 times higher than federal limits.

The increased levels were detected after the property managers installed a filtration system to help eliminate arsenic — which flows naturally in the ground water of that area of Pond Road. Lakehurst’s drinking water comes from a well.

After the installation of the arsenic control equipment, the water grew more acidic and began to eat away at the water pipes and leach lead.

“Pretty much every month we had a reason why we couldn’t touch our water,” Seamus said. “We’re trying to find a way to get out of here.”

Catherine Whitney, chief operating officer for C&C Realty Management, previously has said that copper was present in the water when the company took over management of the property in January. Whitney could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Equipment was installed last Friday to help neutralize acid levels in the water, and help stop the corrosion of pipes.

“So far, those have been looking very promising,” said Carlton Gardner, compliance and enforcement team leader for the Maine Drinking Water Program with the Department of Health and Human Services.

A new lead sample of the housing community’s water will be taken this week, he said. Results should be available by Friday.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to lead through drinking water is relatively uncommon. The greatest exposure to lead comes from swallowing or breathing in lead paint chips and dust.

Lead is rarely found in source water — springs, lakes and rivers — but enters tap water through the corrosion of plumbing materials.

By the 1920s, most pipes installed for water distribution were made of iron, at least in part because lead was known to seriously contaminate drinking-water supplies.

But lead solder was used well into the 1980s to seal water pipes. The Lakehurst Acres property was built sometime near 1980.

In babies and children, excessive exposure to lead can result in delays in physical and mental development, according to the EPA, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure.

According to State Toxicologist Smith, lead in blood has a half-life of one month, so it could take a few months for residents at Lakehurst to process the lead out of their bodies.

“We want all of them to be as low as possible,” Smith said.

C&C Realty, an Augusta-based firm that manages 19 properties throughout the state, including Lakehurst Acres, said it will continue to provide residents with bottled water until lead levels return to normal.

Glen Bolduc — 623-3811, Ext. 431
gbolduc@centralmaine.com

Reader Comments

Frank Waksmunski of Palmerton, PA
Sep 21, 2006 8:23 AM

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has released the following Public Health Statement for Lead: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs13.html#bookmark04

This is an excerpt:
Children are more sensitive to the health effects of lead than adults. NO SAFE BLOOD LEAD LEVEL IN CHILDREN HAS BEEN DETERMINED. …
Fetuses exposed to lead in the womb, because their mothers had a lot of lead in their bodies, may be born prematurely and have lower weights at birth. Exposure in the womb, in infancy, or in early childhood also may slow mental development and cause lower intelligence later in childhood. There is evidence that these effects may persist beyond childhood.

Frank Waksmunski

Carbon County Groundwater Guardians
http://www.carbonwaters.org/

Penn State Master Well Owner
http://mwon.cas.psu.edu/