The first scoops of dirt will be removed starting Tuesday as the Environmental Protection Agency resumes its cleanup of lead-tainted soil in Iola. HIGH-PRIORITY properties will be targeted first, Schademann said, such as day care centers, and properties with the highest lead contamination levels.
Randy Schademann, the EPA’s on-site coordinator, told the Register he and others are finalizing plans so the excavation can begin.
At least two feet of top soil will be removed from more than 300 properties around town, and replaced with “clean” dirt and re-seeded with grass.
All is being done at no cost to local residents. A bulk of the funds for the project — projected to cost between $8 million and $10 million — will be funded by the federal government. The state has agreed to chip in 10 percent of the cost.
Lead-tainted soil has been a part of Iola’s landscape since zinc and lead smelters were in operation in the early days of the 20th century. The plants are long gone, but their tailings remain, and are still a health risk, EPA officials said.
A study in 2006 found more than 130 properties surveyed in Iola, most of which were near where the smelters operated in the east part of town, had unsafe levels of lead. Those studies were voluntary, in which samples were taken from properties only upon the landowner’s request.
It was evident then that additional testing was required, EPA officials said.
Iola was placed on EPA’s National Priorities List in late 2012, noting more cleanup was necessary.
Subsequent testing in 2013 revealed more than 350 other properties with lead-soil levels of at least 800 parts per million.
Other property owners with lead-soil contamination of 400 ppm or greater — about 700 have been identified — also need to be cleaned. Schademann told Iola City Council members earlier this month those properties will be targeted as soon as the first phase concludes.
Once those properties are remediated, Schademann said crews likely would begin moving strategically across town.
“We don’t really have a geographical plan right now, but we’ll probably try to get properties in the same area so we’re not hop-scotching across town,” Schademann said.
The EPA will set up quarters at 501 N. State St. for the next several months while the cleanup proceeds. Schademann told Iola City Council members the entire project could last up to two years.
For more information, Schademann can be reached at (913) 669-5478.
Soil cleanup begins Tuesday
