As the lead smelter’s gray smokestack towers above her, Brenda Browning walks toward a grassy hollow next to the low-slung Herculaneum City Hall building. A paved driveway leads to nowhere. Two white clothesline posts stand absently nearby.

Tagged with: Doe Run

The former owners of the Doe Run lead smelter in Herculaneum are on the hook for $320 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit alleging emissions harmed area children.

Tagged with: Doe Run

The former owners of the Doe Run lead smelter in Herculaneum must pay $38.5 million in compensatory damages to the children who suffered from exposure to high levels of lead, a St. Louis jury ruled Thursday.

Tagged with: Doe Run

The Doe Run plant in Peru has been the subject of a lawsuit for years. Attorneys for the plaintiffs told a St. Louis federal court that there have been threats instigated by the St. Louis-based company. Doe Run officials deny the allegations. Bloomberg News file photo

Tagged with: Doe Run

Recent test results of lead levels from the Doe Run Co. in Herculaneum could either show that the situation has deteriorated or that it has improved, depending on which entity is interpreting the results.

In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency directed Doe Run to expand the area to collect samples of lead in the surface soil and gravel driveways at residential properties within one mile of the lead smelter.

According to the EPA, of 372 properties sampled, 129 had at least one area exceeding the 400 parts/million action level for lead.

Doe Run sees the results differently.

Tagged with: Doe Run EPA lead smelter

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is considering extending the lead nonattainment area boundary in Herculaneum to include portions of Pevely, Festus and Crystal City. The DNR and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommend areas for nonattainment designation when an ...

Tagged with: Doe Run Herculaneum Missouri Department of Natural Resources nonattainment smelter

EPA ordered company to expand testing area

Following an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Doe Run Co. is required to turn over findings of additional soil samples taken in Herculaneum by today. In July, the EPA directed Doe Run to expand the area to collect samples of lead in the surface soil and gravel driveways at residential properties within one mile of the lead smelter.

The smokestack from the Doe Run smelter rises behind a vacant house on Mott Drive in Herculaneum. The house is located in part of the voluntary property purchase area surrounding the industrial site.

Tagged with: Doe Run