"EPA to Test 10,000 Indiana Yards for Lead from Ancient Factories"

"EVANSVILLE, Indiana -- At least 10,000 more properties in residential neighborhoods of Evansville will be tested for lead and arsenic contamination in the soil of their yards, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 announced today.

Long-shuttered companies that once manufactured horse-drawn plows, stoves and lead shot operated outdoor foundries in the area from 1880 to 1950. These operations likely released lead and arsenic particles into the air that eventually ended up in the soil, the EPA says.

The agency has expanded the area to be tested and cleaned up for lead and arsenic at the Jacobsville Neighborhood Lead Contamination Superfund site, which was placed on the Superfund List in July 2004. Though the expanded area encompasses a number of other neighborhoods, EPA says it will continue to use the Jacobsville name."

Environment News Service had the story June 10, 2009.