EPA working to clean up Evansville yards contaminated with lead
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Work is starting to clean up hundreds of Evansville yards contaminated with lead and arsenic.
The Jacobsville superfund site makes up several neighborhoods on the west and south sides of Evansville.
So far, 4000 homes and properties in the area have been identified as having contaminated soil since 2007.
The EPA is starting back up efforts to clean up this area, including yards in or near the Ballard, Bayard Park, Culver, Fulton Terrace, Haynie’s Corner, Jimtown, Riverside and Jacobsville neighborhoods.
EPA officials tell us they plan to sample and then remove soil from 350 yards this year.
Ted O’Connell, director of Jacobsville Development, says so far, about 70% of the contaminated areas in the Jacobsville neighborhood have been cleaned up.
“That’s a great start, and I think it’s important that the government is stepping in in this scenario and providing some funds for a neighborhood that needs those funds and the community,” he says. “And it’s because of issues that are out of their control.“
O’Connell says many people in the neighborhood have no idea they might be at risk.
“The effects of it run all throughout the urban core of Evansville because it’s spread through the air,” he says. “We have a very high rental population in the neighborhood. They move into the neighborhood, how are they supposed to know it has lead and arsenic.”
The only way to get rid of the arsenic and lead is by removing the entire top layer of soil.
“One of the problems with lead is, it’s very fine dust, so if you get it on your shoes when you’re out playing in the yard, then you track that in the house, it could be on your floors,” describes O’Connell.
While progress has been made, Dream Center Evansville Chief Advancement Officer Tom Moore says those youngest are still feeling the impacts.
“A couple of the children had tested, high levels of lead in their system. They had been tested on multiple occasions,” he says.
That’s why the after-school program is trying to fill the gap, hosting love you neighbor day this month by helping educate and equip area families on how to keep themselves safe.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to make a real difference in those homes that we’re able to do, and we anticipate this will be an ongoing effort in Jacobsville that we will help support,” shares Moore.
Moore says the Dream Center will help host Love Your Neighbor Day April 12th from 8:30 A.M. to 1 P.M.
He tells us they will be helping cover the contaminated topsoil with mulch as well as working to educate the community about the dangers of the heavy metals.
If you suspect lead or arsenic is present on your property, reach out to the Vanderburgh County Health Department and the EPA.
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