Last Updated on April 1, 2024 by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
CHICAGO – Starting early April, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will resume lead-contaminated soil cleanup in residential yards near the former Exide Battery facility at 303 Water Street, Logansport, Indiana. Anticipated to last through the summer, 15 properties will be addressed. The cleanups will be completed at no cost to property owners or residents. Last fall, cleanup of 5 residential yards was completed.
From 1960-89, Exide Technologies was a lead-acid storage battery manufacturing facility for the automotive industry before shutting down in 2009. The building was demolished in 2016 and the property has since been vacant. The EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management previously tested soil near the former facility for lead contamination and found elevated lead levels on some properties. The EPA will clean up yards that have lead concentrations above the EPA’s risk-based cleanup standard.
Residents should expect increased traffic in the neighborhood while crews remove contaminated soil. The EPA will monitor the air at the site and in the neighborhood during excavation and crews will take precautionary measures to make sure the contaminated soil remains securely contained when hauled away to the approved landfill.
High lead levels pose health risks, especially to children’s health. Lead can adversely affect the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive and developmental systems and the cardiovascular system. Infants and young children are especially sensitive to lead exposures, which may contribute to behavioral problems, learning deficits and lowered IQ.
More information about the cleanup and soil sampling can be found on the EPA’s website.
SOURCE: News release from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency