Soil sampling at Evansville site in Indiana expands to new areas

Chicago, IL— U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 resumed its investigation to determine the extent of lead-contaminated soil in Evansville. Several hundred residents have been mailed detailed information and access agreements that, when signed, allow environmental technicians to collect soil from their properties.

The area to be investigated extends beyond the Jacobsville neighborhood, where attention had been focused until now. Based on limited data collected in late 2004, EPA now believes that many decades ago lead contamination may have spread to other areas. Before cleanup plans are finalized, EPA wants to perform a thorough investigation of potentially impacted areas.

The contamination came to light a few years ago during a smaller cleanup in the Jacobsville neighborhood. In 2000 2001, in support of an EPA cleanup effort at the Evansville Plating Works, The Indiana Department of Environmental Management collected soil samples in the area, many of which showed lead levels high enough to warrant Superfund attention.

The samples taken will be very small, with no damage to the yards. “I encourage full participation by Evansville residents and business owners, so that the EPA may clean up any lead contamination that may exist,” said Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel.

In addition to those residents who received the recent mailing seeking property access, other Evansville residents who would like their property to be considered for sampling may print an access agreement from the EPA website www.epa.gov/region5/sites/jacobsville/ and send it to EPA.