More Than Half the Homes in East Omaha Have Unsafe Lead Levels. That Doesn’t Mean the EPA Will Clean Them Up.

More than half of the residential properties in a section of East Omaha, a former site of a lead smelter, still contain hazardous levels of lead contamination, findings from a recent investigation by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica revealed. Despite spending over half a billion dollars on environmental cleanup efforts, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not mandated a stricter cleanup standard for these properties.

The study tested 388 homes in the Omaha Superfund site and discovered that 208 of them had soil lead levels surpassing the 100 parts per million (ppm) threshold recommended by updated health guidelines. This level, equivalent to about 10 grains of rice in a 10-pound bucket of dirt, is believed to significantly reduce the risk of IQ loss in children and heart attacks in adults. However, the EPA has never required this stringent cleanup standard in Omaha or as a national remediation benchmark.

The contamination is not confined to low-income neighborhoods. Research indicates that properties closest to the original lead smelter and other historical factories in downtown Omaha have slightly higher lead concentrations than those located farther out. Despite this, the current EPA policy for the cleanup site directs contractors to remove and replace the soil only if lead levels exceed 400 ppm, a standard that has not been met in many of the affected homes.

Natalie Thorpe, a resident whose three-year-old daughter tested positive for high lead levels in the past, expressed her concerns about the lingering risks. Her yard, while not meeting the government cleanup threshold, still poses a potential health hazard. The EPA spokesperson, Kellen Ashford, explained that while lead remediation in soil is a crucial factor in community protection, it is not the sole concern.

The agency also works with local health officials to safeguard communities from lead risks through various means, such as maintaining the Omaha Lead Registry to track property remediation status and funding the Douglas County Health Department's lead poisoning prevention program.

Despite the successful reduction in elevated blood-lead levels in Omaha due to cleanup efforts, Thorpe's experience underscores the persistent challenge of addressing lead contamination at lower levels. As public health experts increasingly acknowledge the risks associated with even minimal exposures, new research and advocacy efforts are needed to confront this issue effectively.

However, the political landscape complicates potential cleanups. President Biden's administration recently lowered the EPA’s recommended screening level for lead contamination from 400 ppm to 100 ppm, raising concerns about the enormous costs involved – an estimated $500 billion to $1.4 trillion to remediate all contaminated U.S. homes.