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An unprecedented health study shows Butte’s Superfund cleanup efforts are proving successful and children are being exposed to lower levels of dangerous lead.

The report is the first of five studies over the next 30 years that aims to gauge whether efforts to remove contamination from the area’s mining heydays are having an effect on public health. Future studies hope to uncover data that might guide new remediation efforts.

The first study measured blood samples from children gathered from 2003 to 2011. Lead levels in the samples dropped by half, a clear sign to environmental officials that cleanup efforts and health are linked.

“Is Superfund effective? Absolutely,” said Nikia Greene, a project manager for the Environmental Protection Agency. “The data is showing that.”

The study was compiled by Seattle consulting firm Environ and released Friday by the EPA. It looked at blood lead levels in more than 3,000 children, who are more susceptible to lead exposure than adults, and found that children in Butte had higher levels than the national average from 2003 to 2008 but levels on par with national averages in 2009 and 2010.

“This means that blood lead levels were declining faster in Butte” than nationally, the report states.