The Environmental Protection Agency is hosting a public meeting Thursday evening to explain the ongoing soil remediation project in town.
The session begins at 6:30 at the Iola Public Library, 218 E. Madison Ave.
Crews have been clearing 350 or so “highly contaminated” lead-tainted yards in town — polluted from the use of zinc smelters in the early 1900s.
The EPA initially has targeted properties with lead-soil levels at 800 parts per million or above. The next phase will target properties with 400 ppm or above.
Studies in recent years have found 902 properties in town with lead-soil levels in the 400 to 800 ppm range.
That’s where Thursday’s meeting comes in.
As part of the process, EPA must summarize its proposed plan for the remaining properties.
The preferred alternative is a continuation of the cleanup currently underway, explained Ben Washburn, an EPA spokesman.
The agency is required to present all alternatives to the public and ask for its input before proceeding. They are:
— Continuing with the same cleanup process — excavation and disposal — that’s being utilized for highly contaminated soil, with costs projected at about $19 million;
— Doing nothing at all with the remaining properties, which of course carries no cost;
— Using a “phosphate stabilization” process in which phosphoric acid is mixed into the soil and allowed to react with the lead. Lime is then added to neutralize the acid. The treatment converts the lead into a form that cannot be digested, and thus no longer hazardous to humans. The cost for phosphate stabilization has been pegged at $36 million, with the caveat that ongoing soil monitoring afterward, Washburn said.
Thursday’s session will include an overview of the site and proposed remedies for the first hour.
At 7:30, the public will be permitted to ask questions about the project and potential health impacts.
Comments received during the public comment period will be considered before choosing the final remedy, Washburn said.
Public comments may cause EPA to choose a remedy that is different from what they have been doing.
CREWS FROM Environmental Restoration have handled the cleanup effort so far, by digging down 2 feet of a tainted property to ensure all of the lead-tainted soil is removed. (If lead is still evident farther down, a special liner is put in place to seal off the contamination.)
Once the “clean” dirt is in place, crews either place a layer of sod, or in isolated instances, seed the new soil to grass.
Lead tailings from zinc smelters that operated in the early 20th century has led to unsafe lead levels throughout the city, engineers concluded years ago, resulting in the EPA placing Iola on its National Priorities List in 2011.
WHILE the tainted soil has been contaminated for more than a century, the potential hazards remain an issue today.
Lead can enter the body by swallowing microscopic dust particles sticking to the hands or locally grown vegetables exposed to the tainted soil, Washburn explained.
Washburn said young children are at the greatest risk. While physical symptoms may not be present, a child with a high blood lead level still can be adversely affected.
Lead poisoning can lead to a wide range of health issues, from headaches and stomach pain to behavioral problems and anemia. Lead also can affect a child’s developing brain.
Many people with lead poisoning show only mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
Lead also can be absorbed through the lungs by breathing air contaminated with lead, which likely was a danger in Iola when the smelters were in operation, but probably no longer, Washburn noted.
