1978 Lead Link Seen in Children

This World-Herald article captures an important moment in Omaha’s history of lead contamination. It captures a shift in medical awareness and a growth in public response to lead poisoning. In the late 1970s, public appreciation of Omaha’s lead problem was not a secret concern anymore. It was an urgent problem that needed immediate attention. The article outlines the way health officials recognized lead poisoning as a statewide threat, specifically for children. This concern laid the groundwork for policies about screening that come later.

The article details that by 1978, children’s elevated blood-lead levels were directly linked with contamination by the ASARCO smelter. There was data from as early as the 1800s that the smelter workers had lead poisoning, but the exposure of children had not been systematically addressed. There was a turning point when the Douglas County Health Department collected new blood-testing data. The report stated that there were unusually high rates of lead levels in children. This was enough for officials to confirm that lead exposure went beyond industrial workers. It went into nearby neighborhoods.

This data acted as a catalyst. It raised alarms in the community. The children who were living near the industrial sites were the ones showing the elevated blood-lead levels. The rates of the blood levels exceeded the national norm. At this time, it was becoming more medically known that even the smallest amount of lead exposure could lead to neurological and development effects. This data pushed health officials to acknowledge that this was a public health problem that needed interventions.

By the late 1970s children were already experiencing consequences of lead exposure. The high lead exposure led to learning difficulties, behavioral issues, slowed development, and long-term harm neurologically. The data showed that this was a significant and ongoing issue.

The outlook that children were the most vulnerable group made the problem become a lot more urgent in the eyes of public health officials. Children are going to be children. They are going to ingest things they bring in from outside due to normal children behavior. When they play outside chances are they are touching contaminated soil and then these kids bring these things indoors. This document suggests that the recognition of these effects shifted public heath strategy. When a child was developing high blood-lead levels they will not always show physical symptoms that are easy to identify. Early identification is crucial to help these children. This was the beginning of the large-scale screening initiatives that eventually lead to the EPA soil-removal programs.

This article shows how they tried to inform residents in the beginning stages. The officials publicly warned families that there are many risks of lead exposure. They wanted to encourage lead testing for children that were living near these industrial areas. This shifted the problem from individual doctors to a county-level program that was organized by officials.

In 1978, there was not a detailed prevention strategy that was planned yet. It was all about raising awareness. Public health officials wanted to focus on educating the public through news media and research articles. This wanted to educate them about the dangers of dust contaminated by lead being carried home by workers and running through the air in certain neighborhoods. All these things lead them to stress the importance of being tested. This article does not have follow-up data about the earliest efforts. It expresses that there was a need for growing recognition of the problem though. 

The early efforts of providing warnings outlined for late public health initiatives. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Omaha was determined to expand screening programs and launch educational campaigns for the nearby neighborhoods needing information. Public awareness had already increased when the EPA declared the Omaha Lead Site as a Superfund location.

Flannery, J. (1978, November 16). Lead link seen in children. Omaha World-Herald, p. 6.