Anchorage Daily News

Roughly one in 10 Alaska workers tested for lead in their blood in recent years -- mostly because they worked around it -- had an amount that the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers unhealthy.

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State health epidemiologists are concerned that the overall trend of exposures to the toxic metal in Alaska workers between 1995 and 2006 didn't follow the decline occurring at the national level.

Doctors and labs provided lead test results from 2,710 workers to the state Department of Health during that period.

Most of the workers did not exceed the CDC's health criteria for lead. Of the 308 workers who did, more than 90 percent of them were employed in the mining industry, according to state health officials.

The Alaska workers had a lower rate of severe lead exposures but a higher annual rate of moderately high exposures when compared to workers tested in a national lead survey.

These findings were published recently by the state Department of Health and Social Services, which has been tracking lead levels in Alaskans since 1995.

Lead poses an increased risk of hypertension, anemia and central nervous system, kidney and reproductive problems in adults chronically exposed to it. Typical occupations in which workers are exposed to lead include construction, demolition, lead mining and battery manufacturing.

So far, state officials said they have had little feedback from Alaska employers or regulators on the report's findings.

The Health Department has no authority over the mines or other employers.

"We're looking at it from a medical point of view," not as regulators, said Lori Verbrugge, the department's environmental health program manager.

ROLE OF MINING

Of the 308 Alaska workers whose blood lead level was at or above the CDC's criteria, 94 percent worked in mining, 5 percent in demolition, and the rest at firing ranges, auto repair shops and remediation projects.

At the national level, manufacturing is the biggest source for occupational lead exposures, but Alaska has little manufacturing.

In Alaska, most of the blood test results for lead came from the Red Dog mine near Kotzebue, according to Sophie Wenzel, a state epidemiologist who authored the Health Department's report.

Red Dog has been proactive in dealing with lead in its workers and in sharing its data with the state, Wenzel said.

Since opening in 1989, two Red Dog mine workers have been removed from their jobs due to lead exposure, said Red Dog's senior environmental coordinator, Wayne Hall.

The workers were not wearing their protective gear as required or using proper hygiene, he said.

"It's very essential that the employee uses those devices," he said.

State records show that since 1995, 33 workers filed cases with the state Division of Workers' Compensation alleging lead poisoning. Most of the cases were from construction or remediation work. A couple of the cases were related to mining.

Red Dog's blood lead surveillance program flags workers when their lead level reaches the CDC's criteria -- 25 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.

The Greens Creek mine near Juneau, another lead producer, also monitors blood lead levels. The program flags workers when their lead level reaches 20 micrograms per deciliter.

That amount roughly equates to a tiny particle in a cup of water.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration doesn't require an employer to intervene with a worker -- by stepping up blood testing, investigating the job environment or providing counseling, for example -- unless his or her blood lead level hits 40 micrograms per deciliter.

OSHA does not regulate mines. The federal Mining Safety and Health Administration, which does regulate mines, does not require blood testing for lead, but it inspects mines and requires them to report poisonings.

MSHA officials did not respond in time for this story, following repeated calls and e-mails.

a health concern

Despite monitoring by the mines, Alaska workers' lead levels aren't declining, the report shows.

That finding is worrisome because it looks like the state isn't on target to meet a federal goal for reducing adult lead exposures, Wenzel wrote in the report.

The CDC considers a level of 25 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood a health concern for adults. The agency's goal is to reduce to zero the number of U.S. adults with that blood lead level by 2010.

Increased prevention measures, especially in workplaces, are needed to achieve the goal, says the CDC, which has no enforcement powers over employers.

The lack of a decline of blood lead levels among Alaska workers is also a concern because of growing evidence that negative health effects can occur at levels once considered safe, Wenzel wrote in the report.

A growing body of research is showing that these smaller lead exposures may create a higher risk of hypertension, kidney disease and cognitive and reproductive problems if the exposures continue for many years, according to a report published last year by the national Association of Occupational and Environmental Health Clinics.

State epidemiologists said they don't know why lead exposures in Alaska aren't declining.

It could be related to employment trends, Verbrugge suggested. Under Alaska law, all physicians and laboratories must report blood lead concentrations above 10 micrograms per deciliter to the Health Department.

Officials from Red Dog and Greens Creek said in recent interviews that they feel their lead surveillance programs are working well and the state's report won't change anything for them.

The goal is to not have any worker's blood lead concentration increase after they are hired, according to Wayne Hall, the senior environmental manager at Red Dog.

State officials provided a list of recommendations in their report. They said, among other things:

• Health care providers should offer blood testing to patients whose jobs put them at elevated risk for lead exposure, and who are not being regularly tested by their employer.

• Employers should enforce federal regulations for lead exposure, with the ultimate goal of reducing to zero the number of workers with blood lead levels that hit the CDC's criteria.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

Possible health effects of lead exposure

EFFECTBLOOD LEAD CONCENTRATION

(micrograms per deciliter)

Depressed kidney functionless than 10

Elevated blood pressure less than 10

Possible kidney damage more than 30

Tingling, burning in hands and feetmore than 40

Neurobehavioral effects more than 40

Altered thyroid hormone more than 40

Reduced fertility more than 40

Depressed hemoglobin more than 50

Source: U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

Alaska workers

Figures from 1995-2006

Number of workers tested: 2,710

Median blood lead concentration: 9 micrograms per deciliter

Number of workers with blood lead concentration over 25 micrograms per deciliter: 308

Number of workers with blood lead concentration over 40 micrograms per deciliter: 39

Source: Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

How Red Dog Mine monitors workers

• Employees and contractors are tested to determine their blood lead level when they are hired.

• Subsequent lead tests occur at least once a year for all workers, and at least twice a year for workers in jobs where there is a higher potential for exposure.

• If a worker's blood lead concentration exceeds 25 micrograms per deciliter, Red Dog starts testing him or her every three months.

• If a blood lead level concentration exceeds 35 micrograms, Red Dog monitors every month and provides counseling.

• If a blood lead level concentration exceeds 40 micrograms, Red Dog monitors every month, provides counseling and investigates employee's actions and personal hygiene.

• If a blood lead level concentration exceeds 50 micrograms, Red Dog removes the employee from the work site.

Source: Wayne Hall, Red Dog's senior environmental coordinator

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