PICHER, Okla. (AP) The Environmental Protection Agency is planning to check for high lead levels in Picher after a deadly tornado blew through the former mining town where lead-filled waste is piled into giant mounds.
The tornado was one of several that killed at least six in Picher and 22 people in the Midwest and the South during the weekend.
In Picher the devastation is complicated by the town's status as one of the most polluted Superfund sites in the nation.
Oklahoma secretary of the environment Miles Tolbert says he doesn't think there is an immediate public health hazard to the 800 residents. He did say more testing is needed to be certain.
Long-term exposure to lead dust poses a health risk, particularly to young children.
© Copyright 2008 by the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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