By K. Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The Missouri Department of Natural Resources confirms that the Doe Run Company's lead smelter in Herculaneum did achieve the national air quality standard during the third quarter of 2002.
DNR has been monitoring the air in Herculaneum since the early 1980s, but environmental engineer John Rustige says this is only the second time Doe Run has achieved attainment levels for a full three-month period.
"We're going to continue monitoring there and watching the situation pretty closely," Rustige said. "But I think we're all pretty hopeful that we've sort of taken a big step here, and hopefully we'll maintain this."
Doe Run recently completed a $12 million dollar air pollution control program, which includes building enclosures and ventilation and filtering systems.