Collection of Soil and Water Samples Underway in Camden County, Mo.

(Kansas City, Kan., Nov. 19, 2008) - The E.P.A. is currently sampling soil and water from private wells at residences in Camden County, Mo. The samples are being screened for the presence of lead and other metals. There is no cost to the property owner or resident for the sampling.

For most of its history, Missouri was the biggest lead producer in the country. Historical records show that lead was mined in Camden Co. from 1830 to 1947. Mining, smelting and milling activities have contributed to lead contamination in soils and water in various locations throughout the state.

Previous sampling in the Central Mining District (Camden, Cole, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties) has identified some private water wells with lead, arsenic, or cadmium at concentrations above health-based drinking water standards. Lead is a toxic metal that is harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Children are more sensitive to lead than adults and can develop life-long learning disabilities and behavior problems from lead exposure.

E.P.A. will only collect samples after the property owner has granted access. The sampling will be performed by a team of E.P.A. contractors carrying proper identification. Sampling will take less than 30 minutes and the results will be reported to the resident within 2 months. Residents do not need to be home when the samples are collected. Water samples are typically collected from an outside spigot, so home entry is not usually required.

A test can be requested by calling E.P.A. On-Scene Coordinator Janice Kroone at 913-551-7005 and leaving a message or by sending an e-mail message to [email protected]. You must include your name, address of the property to be tested, mailing address, county, location of outside water spigot and phone number.

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