Direct smelters and different factories in city Omaha, Nebraska, have spewed toxic dust all over the city for more than a century, contaminating the soil and causing lead poisoning. The town of Omaha and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have spent years attempting to restore it.
But in 2019, the EPA acknowledged its strategy may not do much to protect children, and the company is reexamining the webpage to potentially increase the remediation, which could result in more home yards being remediated.
ProPublica and the Flatwater Free Press collaborated to share information on how well the recovery efforts is proceeding. The Superfund site, which collects ground samples from more than 600 yards in and around the affected region, was one of the steps taken. Some people we met in the process told us they had not heard of the Superfund site and had no idea they could be at risk from direct contact. They frequently inquired about how to remain secure.
So we consulted authorities and received answers below.
Getting Involved
We’re looking into homes just outside the officially designated recovery territory and are testing the ground around Omaha, Nebraska for lead. If you want to have your soil tested and live in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Carter Lake, Iowa, or the northern part of Bellevue, Nebraska, you can fill out our sign-up type. If anyone in your family has had elevated blood lead levels, you can contact reporter Chris Bowling at cbowling@flatwaterfreepress .org to share your experience.
1. What is direct toxicity?
Lead poisoning occurs when guide, a carcinogenic metal that was used for decades in color, oil, and piping, is ingested and builds up in the body, causing issues like developmental delays and behavioural issues in children. Children’s health is more of a concern because they are still developing and more likely than adults to capture the guide they breathe or absorb. But direct poisoning can even change grownups, causing problems like high blood pressure, storage damage and joint and muscle pain.
2. What prospect levels are deemed to be illegal?
There is no” safe” level of exposure to lead. A high level is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 3. 5 grams of lead per liter of heart.
The Douglas County Health Department will conduct an environmental risk assessment that will include a home inspection and instruction on how to reduce exposure if your child’s exam results in lead levels higher than that. The nonprofit National Center for Healthy Housing also has a good schedule for how to reduce cause coverage.
On the Omaha Lead Registry, you can check your land levels if you live near the Superfund site. In the event that there are no other exposures, an EPA risk design predicts that a land lead concentration of 100 parts per million or less would prevent children from developing what the CDC now defines as a higher blood lead value.
3. What information if I have about the Omaha-based Lead Superfund website?
North of Harrison Street, south of Read Street, and between 45th Street and the Missouri River are the typical locations for the Superfund page. It was designated a Superfund site in 2003, meaning the federal government may monitor a cleanup of the toxic waste it and try to find the companies to pay for it.
The EPA established the Superfund site’s boundaries based on the lead concentration at which the government would do a cleanup and the location of the test results for less than 5 % of residential properties that had been tested above 400 parts per million. In a 10-pound bottle of soil, that is roughly the size of a stone. People who live beyond the limit may still have elevated land levels and can contact the area if they’re interested in testing and possible recovery.
4. Does lead contaminate my soil? How can I get my soil tested?
If you live in the Omaha Superfund site, you can check the Omaha Lead Registry to find out the highest level of lead in your yard after having your property’s soil sampled by the EPA or the city of Omaha. The city can send you a detailed house diagram showing average lead levels in various neighborhood areas. These levels may have changed over time if you have flaking lead paint on your home or have added, removed or covered up dirt in your yard.
If you live within or close to the Superfund site and your soil hasn’t been tested, you can contact the city’s Lead Information Office. Through its garden and lawn soil testing program, Midwest Laboratories in Omaha also charges for heavy metal screening.
5. Does my home contain lead? Is there lead in my drinking water?
Homes built before 1978 likely contain lead paint. You can conduct lead testing with at-home kits that have been approved by the EPA. Lead paint chips in a geometric pattern known as “alligatoring” because it appears to be scaly alligator skin, which is a common indicator that it may have been used.
East Omaha has extensive lead plumbing. Use this map to determine whether your home qualifies for service line replacement. The Metropolitan Utilities District can provide you with a free water test if you have lead service lines.
6. What is the city’s remediation strategy?
The city will also check the exterior of the home for lead-based paint if the soil has a high enough lead concentration to qualify for cleanup. If the home has lead-based paint, a contractor hired by the city will remove flaking paint and repaint the surface before the soil is remediated.
Contractors clean up properties by removing 4 inches of soil and testing it. If the levels are still troubling, they continue to dig and test up to a foot in depth. If contamination still exists, contractors put down a barrier like landscaping fabric before adding fill dirt and laying sod on top.
The Douglas County Health Department will also reach out to the property owner to see if the property owner would like a free home inspection and a free vacuum cleaner with a filter that captures small particles following the city’s work.
How this remediation procedure is proceeding is being covered in reports. If you have a story or concerns about your remediation process, contact the Flatwater Free Press.
7. Should I still be concerned that my yard was cleaned up? Will it be retested?
By excavating and replacing areas with more than 400 parts per million of lead in the soil, the EPA rehabilitated yards in Omaha. According to EPA spokesperson Kellen Ashford, the majority of properties don’t need to be resampled. However, the EPA and the city of Omaha have resampled properties on a case-by-case basis. When a structure has been destroyed, exposing soil that has lead-contaminated soil or causing mold to spread from lead paint, one instance is.
Tens of thousands of properties were not remediated because they had high levels of lead contamination but were within the 400-parts-per-million benchmark. The Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica are investigating how effective the cleanup has been. Contact the Flatwater Free Press if you have any questions or concerns.
8. If I’m outside the Superfund site, should I still be concerned?
According to a Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica investigation, the EPA is considering whether to expand the boundaries of the Omaha Superfund website.
The agency currently permits some remediation before the Superfund site can be fully remediated. Testing and remediation would need to be approved by the EPA, but the process would look the same as it does for properties within the site. If you’re interested in testing and remediation outside the Superfund site, you can contact the city of Omaha if you live within city limits.
9. Is it safe for me, my kids and my pets to be in the yard with contaminated soil?
Naudia McCracken, director of Douglas County’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, said that managing risks while spending time outdoors on the Superfund site is safe.
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She said that engaging in simple outdoor activities like walking through a yard, sitting on grass, or engaging in brief play on covered surfaces does not automatically qualify as high-risk exposure. The concern is repeated or prolonged contact with bare, contaminated soil, particularly when engaged in in activities like digging or playing, which leave soil on hands, faces, or other objects that enter the mouth.
You can reduce risks by keeping bare soil covered, washing hands, taking off your shoes at the door, cleaning indoor dust and preventing pet contact with bare soil when possible, McCracken said.
10. If my soil is contaminated, is it safe to garden?
Safe gardening starts with limiting contact with the dirt. According to the EPA, wash your produce well, peel root vegetables, and discard the outermost layers of leafy vegetables like cabbage and lettuce. When entering the home, remove your shoes and use gloves while working in the garden.
The best way to avoid contamination is to build a raised bed, said Shannon Kyler, community programs manager at the urban farm group City Sprouts. Roots should be kept away from the base soil in an 18-inch bed with a layer of landscape fabric beneath. Composting it into the soil will also lower lead levels and promote soil health. It’s a good idea to retest soil every year, she said.
According to research from Washington and Kansas, lead is typically only a small amount in well-maintained soil.
According to Kyler, gardening can be a low-risk activity when done properly. Several resources like the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska Extension and City Sprouts can also help answer questions.
11. Is blowing dust a risk of lead contamination?
Lead is particularly dangerous in small dust particles because it can be more easily absorbed in the body, said Gabriel Filippelli, executive director of Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute and a lead and Superfund researcher for decades. Contaminated dust that enters homes or is tracked in through dirt can settle on surfaces like tables and floors where children can reach it.
12. Does lead go away over time?
Lead generally doesn’t disintegrate in the environment. Some of the substance will naturally leave the body once it has been consumed or inhaled, though this depends on factors like age and diet. Most of it is stored in bones for decades and can be released back into the bloodstream, especially in times of stress like pregnancy.
According to medical professionals, lead causes harm that cannot be reversed, such as the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic. However, some recent studies suggest that some of the effects can be counteracted by a nutrient found in many fruits and vegetables, such as exercise, educational opportunities like visiting museums or taking art lessons.
The post What You Should Know About Lead Contamination in Omaha, Nebraska appeared first on ProPublica.
