- Firefighters battling the Iron Fire may have been exposed to lead.
- The fire burned near the historic Eureka Mills mine, a Superfund site.
- Firefighters are advised to clean clothes and tools to prevent contamination.
SALT LAKE CITY — Firefighters and other staff battling the Iron Fire in Juab County received notice Wednesday that they may have been exposed to lead and other harmful substances while fighting the flames.
In a letter from the Great Basin Incident Management Team 3, crews were informed parts of the Iron Fire burned at the location of the historic Eureka Mills/Tintic mine. Activity at this mine from the 1870s through the 1960s left behind harmful materials, including lead, mercury, antimony, arsenic, thallium and "other trace metals," according to the letter. The primary contaminant in the area is lead, and it had previously been deemed a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The presence of lead and other contaminants in the area does not mean exposure absolutely occurred, according to the letter. The primary way of getting poisoned by the contaminants is through ingestion or inhalation.
Unless disturbed, lead and other contaminants "typically" stay on the ground "with little risk of inhalation," and ingesting the materials can be avoided by hygienic practices like washing your hands before eating. However, firefighting activities could have disturbed the lead and other contaminants.
The letter states most firefighting efforts took place outside of the Eureka Mills Superfund site, which is where the highest concentrations of lead and other contaminants were present.
Possible symptoms of lead poisoning include stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, bowel changes, dehydration, headache, extreme tiredness, irritability, weakness, loss of appetite or memory, and tingling or pain in the hands or feet, according to the letter. However, these symptoms often appear after "repeated elevated exposures over several years."
The letter advises all firefighters and staff to launder the clothes they wore while fighting the fire separately from other clothing, clean their boots with soap and water, clean the inside of their vehicles with a wet cloth and thoroughly clean all tools used to fight the fire.
