The CLE lead safety group raised safety concerns a month after the Oakwood village bombing.
Leading Cleveland Safe Housing Advocates, or CLASH, are raising concerns about lead contamination in the soil following the Feb. 20 explosion at the I. Schumann Co. foundry. in the village of Oakwood, as a result of which one worker of the plant was killed and 13 people were injured.
CLASH co-founder Yvonka Hall told News 5 that her agency requested test results from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and took soil samples to an independent lab, which she said showed high levels of lead contamination.
“Within a two-mile radius, the number was excessive, so there are about 20 kindergartens in that radius,” Hall said. to release it into the soil and neighboring communities. So just think of the risk to children who play in playgrounds, especially children, the lifelong effects of lead poisoning are irreversible.”
Cody Murphy
John Warren, president of the Oakwood Village Council, praised the work of the village fire and police departments in responding to the explosion site. Warren said the village is also awaiting test results from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and cited a half-page memo released by Fire Chief Dave Tapp on March 13. a dam was built to keep runoff water from entering storm drains or streams.
Warren said the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has informed the village that no air, water or soil contamination from the explosion has been found so far.
“The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has assured us that we have no signs of water pollution or air pollution at this time,” Warren said. they tell us what they say about air quality and any pollutants in the water. As far as our general health is concerned, we must depend on their creditworthiness.”
News 5 contacted the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for our story, and the agency immediately responded and released the following statement:
The fire occurred in the production area of the enterprise, where lead and cadmium are not stored. This reduced the potential risk to the public during a fire. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has two fixed air monitors that periodically test the air for lead. Data from the day after the fire showed no levels of lead that could pose a public health risk. National lead standards are based on a three-month moving average. Current data show that the area continues to meet the national air quality standard for lead.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency contacted a community group and received soil sample data from a third party. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will review this information. It is important to emphasize that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has been working with the contractors and the company since the day of the fire and will continue to monitor the work to ensure that the necessary restoration work is carried out.
I. Schuman hired a contractor to deal with the consequences of this incident. The environmental contractor creates a recovery plan that will be reviewed and approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. As the contractor develops a remediation plan, it will include a plan to collect additional environmental data to assess pollution in the area. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency requires this plan to include soil and sediment sampling. Once the degree of contamination is known, possible cleaning alternatives will be evaluated based on various requirements, including general protection of human health and the environment; short-term and long-term effectiveness; ease of implementation; expenses; and community recognition. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency will inform the public about the cleanup plan and solicit public input before the plan is finalized.
However, Hall said she is concerned that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency has not yet released the test results or recovery plan to the public.
“We’re not talking about what happened yesterday, we’re talking about what happened a month ago,” Hall said. When we called them and emailed them and tried to get answers to questions, they kept trying to pass the blame.”
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