Show September 24 1975 Page 7 Immunity to lead posioning could be possible AP — Children who absorb lead into their bodies over a long period of time may build up an immunity to lead poisoning according to a Boise physician doing a lead poisoning study Dr Glen Wegner Boise Idaho said this way of ingestion may produce vastly different symptoms than in cases where a youngster makes a meal of leadbased paint and gets seriously ill after eating the lead The study is called the Shoshone Project It deals with a special study of North Idaho mining areas where recent tests have shown as many as 40 youngsters have “unequivocal lead poisoning” The lead poisoning reports were based on blood levels exceeding 80 micrjograms of lead per 100 milliliters of blood in children living in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District But Wegner says despite the laboratory test readings no' symptons of poisoning were documented “We don’t know but it appears that it’s different” Wegner said speaking about lead ingestion symptoms Last summer more than 1000 children living in the Kellogg area County were of Shoshone tested for blood lead levels The tests were centered at the Bunker Hill Co lead and zinc smelter about eight miles west of Kellogg A drop in blood lead levels in the children corresponded with the distance they lived from Smelterville the site of the company’s smelter The Shoshone Project in part calls for immediate assistance to families with children harboring high blood lead levels Another i part is a comparison of 100 children with high lead levels and another 100 children with normal blood levels The children with “normal” blood levels are from Spirit Lake Idaho about 50 miles northwest of Smelterville The 200 children are paired according to physical characteristics background home environment and other factors Wegner said “If one of the children with high blood lead drops below 40 he will be dropped from the study and so wilhis counterpart That’s how scientificjthe study is” he said The 200 children will undergo the nerve The data from the study will be submitted to a seven-membtechnical advisory committee including Dr J Julian Chisolm associate professor of pediatrics at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine “The committee wil evaluate data collected in the study and decide what future research is needed on health problems in the Kellogg area” Wegner said The cost of the study and assistance to families in the area will be about $275000 It will be paid jointly by the Bunker Hill Co and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Wegner physicals psychological tests said and a special test to determine The study which started in how fast an electrical impulse November will take about six to travels along a nerve He in- nine months to complete he said dicated a high blood lead level Most studies on lead poisoning tends to impair the conductivity heretofore have been conducted in N Ro pafl in the Eastern US Wegner said typical study usually involves a child who has eaten lead-base- d paints during a period of a few A days The child’s blood lead level shoots up rapidly and the child has seizures and perhpas brain damage But studies on what happens to a child who ingests lead over a long period of time through the environment have not been conducted Wegner said Meanwhile children in the Idaho mining area with ‘'Wood lead levels over 80 are being treated with drugs and a few families are being moved to a healthier environment Most of the families have been visited by Health and Welfare Department personnel who have collected indoor and outdoor dust samples samples of the soil and indoor and outdoor paint specimens he said M IMIS One J$ for Or lti& cU er Ml W Every of WZ Carnival Booths ces IL FRIDAY B ivi 9 hjith Stab 76 SIGN UP AT ACTIVITY CENTER 3RD FLOOR UC r UVll mahhoic inFQrmnin ceoteq Teacher Evaluations General Education Requirements Graduation Requirements UC 208 EXT 7119 3 PQJECI ViSADILlIY Designed to make your voice heard OKM (Muff® AGGIETTE Eli km with “THUNDERBUCK RAM BM i U t S PM BALLROOM |