Doe Run smelter can't be linked to three with Lou Gehrig's disease
By Ken Leiser
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/06/2006

Missouri health officials have identified a "small but statistically significant" cluster of three patients who have been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in Herculaneum.

But Dr. Bao-Ping Zhu, state epidemiologist for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said a new study showed that the overall prevalence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and multiple sclerosis in Jefferson County was no higher than the national average.

The federally funded study was launched in response to community concerns about the incidence of the two neurological diseases in Herculaneum, home to a Doe Run Co. lead smelter. State researchers contacted health care providers, hospitals and the Multiple Sclerosis Society to document cases.

"We did the most exhaustive review possible," he said.Advertisement
The research found that the prevalence of ALS in Jefferson County was 3.9 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 4 to 6 cases per 100,000 people nationally and globally.

But the researchers identified three ALS cases within 1 1/2 miles of the Doe Run plant, the nation's largest lead smelter. Although the geographic concentration of those cases is "statistically significant," Zhu said, the study was unable to draw a link between ALS and lead exposure.

ALS is a progressive disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord, leading to paralysis and death in its later stages, according to the nonprofit ALS Association.

The state's study also found that the prevalence of multiple sclerosis cases in the county was 105 per 100,000 people - putting it within the national range of 39 to 173 cases per 100,000, according to a news release.

Doe Run spokeswoman Barbara Shepard said that the health and well being of the smelter's neighbors was the company's top priority and that Doe Run was interested in hearing the report's conclusions.

The findings will be the focus of a public meeting Thursday evening in the Herculaneum High School auditorium. The meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m.

Zhu said that the report wasn't final yet but that fact sheets would be available to the public.

Dennis Diehl, director of the Jefferson County Health Department, said the study should reassure residents that the prevalence of the neurological diseases didn't buck national trends. But at this point, he added, it is not clear how to interpret the cluster data.

The state and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry are seeking a grant from the National Institutes for Health to study whether lead exposure can be tied to the development of ALS.

kleiser@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8215


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