Clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 13F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..
Clear this evening then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 13F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Inverter&Controller
On-scene coordinator Lauren Hirschel explains the cleanup process at the availability session on Wednesday. The machine next to her is a real time air monitor, and will be used during the excavation.
On-scene coordinator Lauren Hirschel explains the cleanup process at the availability session on Wednesday. The machine next to her is a real time air monitor, and will be used during the excavation.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency hosted an availability session Wednesday night at Columbia Elementary School’s cafeteria. Residents of Logansport stopped by to voice questions and concerns, of which on-scene coordinator Lauren Hirschel and community involvement coordinator Fransisco Arcaute were in attendance to answer.
According to Hirschel, the EPA is investigating and cleaning up any lead contaminated soil in residential yards that may have come from the Exide Battery facility previously located at 303 Water St. She said the EPA previously sampled and tested surface soils within the residential area surrounding the facility, and according to a fact sheet handed out at the session, elevated lead was shown in some properties.
“The Exide facility, to my knowledge, was in operation from the ‘60s to the ‘80s and manufactured lead-acid batteries. So that was what the … state of Indiana, the Department of Environmental Management referred this to us, saying, you know, ‘we’re worried that lead could be in the soil of the residential yards because there was a lead-acid battery facility here,’” Hirschel said. “So, they referred it to us. We did the sampling and did find lead, so it was good that they referred it to us and … we have the funds and the capabilities to do this cleanup.”
Hirschel said the EPA’s action level for lead is 400 parts per million, but it found lead concentrations up to 1700 parts per million. If land contains lead contaminants greater than the EPA’s cleanup action level, it removes the soil, she said. The cleanup will involve excavating the contaminated soil, backfilling clean soil and restoring the property to its previous conditions, according to the fact sheet.
“There’ll be a lot more construction work happening. There’ll be crews with trucks driving the excavated soil as well as clean soil … back in,” Hirschel said. “Just the general process is excavating out the yard, backfilling it and then relandscaping it. So, residents … should expect maybe some traffic delays and just some construction work happening in that area.”
The excavations are planned to start Oct. 23, according to response.epa.gov. Hirschel said only priority properties will be treated this fall and the EPA will return in the spring to do the remaining properties and any others it samples and finds contamination in. She said it is hard to know how long to expect the cleanup will take, but she expects the cleanup will last until at least next fall.
During the availability session, Hirschel said residents had been asking questions such as what the process is like, what they can expect for their yard and how they can participate if their property had not been sampled. Residents also could fill out a form from the EPA that says they consent for access to property for sampling and to take response action.
One resident who attended the session, Katerin Limon-Romero, lives in the cleanup area. She said she was worrying a little because she has children who play outside.
“I just hope everything works out for the kids,” Limon-Romero said.
Mercedes Brugh, former Deputy Mayor of Logansport, also attended the session. She said it has been a problem for a long time and there are neighboring residential properties that she knows of where lead has been discovered.
“I’m so glad that the EPA is coming in and making those families safer,” Brugh said.
Another session attendee, Malcolm Jarrell, said while he does not live in the area, he operates the city’s lead monitor at the waste water treatment plant. He said with them excavating lead based soil, he was concerned with finding out what was going on in case something appeared on the city’s monitor.
Other than that, he said he attended because he was interested in how many homes were included in the assessment, how many of them signed up for sampling and how many of those will need cleanup. He also said there has not been enough credit given to those who run the city and look for these kind of opportunities, such as current Deputy Mayor Jacob Pomasl and City Councilman for Ward 1 Dave Morris, both of whom were also in attendance.
“So, this property is within [Morris’] ward. He’s been going around personally, talking to residents and trying to get them to sign up to have their yards sampled,” Jarrell said. “So, he, again, another just good, vigilant leader of our community that’s involved with the projects.”
People with questions or who want to participate in part of the study may reach out to Hirschel at her phone number 312-480-7976 or at her email hirschel.lauren@epa.gov. More information about the cleanup can be found at response.epa.gov.
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