The Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it is lowering recommended screening levels for lead in residential soil for the first time in 30 years.
The agency is lowering the screening level for lead in soil at residential properties from 400 parts per million to 200 parts per million. For residential properties with multiple sources of lead exposure, the EPA generally will use 100 parts per million as the screening level.
As a result of lowering screening levels, the agency expects to investigate more residential properties for potential cleanup under both the federal Superfund law and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The move, based on updated science, is intended to protect communities from lead poisoning, particularly disadvantaged communities that face multiple sources of lead exposure, the agency said.
“Every family and child, regardless of their ZIP code, deserves to live without worrying about the life-long health effects from exposure to lead pollution,†EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Today’s action ensures that EPA uses the latest, best-available science to protect children living and playing near sites contaminated by lead in soil.â€
Exactly what the action will mean for locations such as Omaha’s lead Superfund site, however, will be determined on a site-by-site basis in the coming months, said Kellen Ashford, a spokesman for the EPA’s regional office in Kansas City, Kansas.
EPA teams will work with stakeholders in local communities to investigate whether the new screening levels will lead to new site-specific guidance, he said. Additional information will be provided to local communities as it becomes available.
Omaha was once a major hub for lead refining and recycling. The EPA estimates that more than 200,000 tons of lead were emitted into the air, with some of that settling on yards in east Omaha.
The agency and others have been working to reduce lead hazards in Omaha since the late 1990s. The City of Omaha took over the effort in 2016. As of last February, more than 42,000 yards had been tested for lead, based on the 400-parts-per-million standard, and more than 13,000 had been cleaned up.
At that time, the EPA announced that it would provide the city $29.9 million, largely for replacing contaminated soil. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development committed $4.4 million to reduce lead paint hazards in homes and apartments.
Lead poisoning is a concern for young children because it can slow growth and cause speech, language and hearing problems as well as nervous system and kidney damage.
In 1999, more than 36% of Douglas County children tested had elevated lead levels in their blood. In recent years, the number has been averaging closer to 2%.
In 2022 specifically, some 1.75% of children screened in the county had confirmed blood levels of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or greater, according to Douglas County Health Department data. Some 85% of those children were from minority populations, with 34% from Asian communities originating in countries such as India, Afghanistan and Burma, and 34% from Hispanic populations.
Investigations indicate the leading source of exposure was lead-based paint, followed by lead in imported spices and lead in contaminated soil.
The Health Department recommends that all children in the county be screened each year until age 7, particularly those who live in or spend time in homes or other facilities built before 1978 and those who live in the 11 ZIP codes east of 56th Street that make up the Superfund site. Lead-based paint was used in homes until 1978, until it was banned. Some 96% of Omaha housing stock east of 72nd Street was built before 1978.
More information about lead poisoning and lead poisoning prevention is available on the Douglas County Health Department’s website,
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