The federal Environmental Protection Agency last week changed its mind on the environmental impact of lead wheel weights, and a trio of West Branch pupils got part of the credit for the turnaround.


Members of Team DeadWeight, which presented its research to United Nations scientists a few weeks ago, were named by the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Ecology Center after the EPA’s Aug. 26 announcement that it will begin the process of writing rules to ban lead wheel weights.

“This absolutely would not have been possible without all of your efforts over the years,” Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart wrote in an e-mail to supporters. “Including the dedicated environmental health advocates, lead (and non-lead) wheel weight manufacturers, automakers, tire retailers, the (U.S. Postal Service), EPA and agency staff, the kids from West Branch Middle School in Iowa and many, many more.”

The Ecology Center and Sierra Club co-wrote a letter to the EPA in May petitioning to overturn a 2005 decision that rejected banning the manufacture, distribution and processing of lead wheel weights.

Gearhart’s Aug. 26 e-mail then encourages supporters to read about Team DeadWeight by directing them to an Aug. 5 story on West Branch Times Online.

“I was really excited because previously the EPA was skeptical about the problem of lead wheel weights — back then lots of people were,” DeadWeight member Justin Roth said. “But now, the awareness that the Ecology Center and our project has brought to the issue has led to pressure on the EPA, and they responded.”

Teammate Jathan Kron agreed.

“When I first heard the news I could not believe it,” he said. “I did not think a national law concerning lead wheel weights would be brought up this soon. It’s these sort of things that prove hard work really does pay off.”

Roth, Kron and Nelson make up the DeadWeight team that won the first annual Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.

In a statement posted on its Web site, the Sierra Club praised the EPA decision.

“Cars and trucks grind the wheel weights into a powder that spreads into the neighborhoods along our busy streets, especially the city streets where traffic is heaviest and the stops, starts and bumps are more common,” Tom Neltner, co-chair of the National Toxic Team for the Sierra Club, said. “EPA’s action makes it clear that the agency recognizes that once released into our neighborhoods, lead is tough to clean up. Pollution prevention is the best way to protect our health and our environment.”

Roth thinks Team DeadWeight’s research about the impact of lead on the environment will hold up under scrutiny that may come in the EPA’s rule-making process.

“Our testing showed that lead can form water soluble lead compounds under certain environmental conditions, which can potentially harm the environment, humans and wildlife,” he said.

Kron points to help the team got from tests run by the University of Iowa Hygienic laboratory and a study by Dr. Robert Root, the latter of whom showed lead wheel weights were falling off cars.

“From there lead wheel weights can be picked up by street sweepers and deposited in a landfill,” Kron said. “Then (the university tests) showed one lead wheel weight in landfill conditions could pollute over 25,000 liters or close to 6,000 gallons of water. Landfill cells can break, leaching toxic lead compounds into our ground water.”

The West Branch pupils said they would tell tire dealers who will likely be affected by any EPA rule change that a ban benefits them, too.

“I would tell (a tire dealer) that lead wheel weights might be harming him and his employees in the workplace and his water at home might also be contaminated with toxic lead,” Kron said.

He said he would then point out the dealer could advertise being a “green tire shop” and that the increased demand for steel wheel weights should drive the price down.

“We all have a responsibility to be good stewards of the environment,” Roth added. “The cost of switching to lead-free wheel weights is far less than the cost of removing harmful lead compounds from the environment.”

Both Kron and Roth said that winning the Siemens contest brought them exposure and credibility.

“Siemens and Discovery Education helped us get our message out to a huge audience,” Roth said.

The EPA’s announcement included proposing requirements to protect children from lead-based paint plus a video contest where participants demonstrate steps to prevent childhood lead poisoning.