EPA's Omaha Lead Cleanup Questioned as Soil Tests Reveal Persistent Contamination
Recent soil tests conducted by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica have revealed that many yards in Omaha, Nebraska, still contain toxic levels of lead, despite previous cleanup efforts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The tests showed that 1 in 10 yards, which were marked as remediated, still have lead levels above the EPA's threshold. The EPA had spent $273 million since 1999 to address lead contamination from a former smelter and other factories, marking it as the largest residential lead cleanup in the U.S. However, the new findings suggest that the cleanup may not have been as effective as reported, with nearly a quarter of the tested properties exceeding new lead levels set by the Trump administration. 
