By Associated Press - Friday, November 23, 2018

CHICAGO (AP) - Federal officials have discovered high lead levels in yards on Chicago’s southeast side during searches for another toxic metal.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent crews to the East Side neighborhood to look for manganese, a brain-damaging metal handled by at least four nearby facilities.

A map posted online by the EPA shows nearly half of the 73 residential properties analyzed during the past six months are tainted by manganese at levels exceeding Illinois’ standard for cleaning up former industrial sites.

But the Chicago Tribune reports the EPA also found high lead levels in nearly two-thirds of those properties.

Ingesting even small amounts of lead can cause brain damage in children.

The EPA will likely add the area to a list of neighborhoods where it’s overseeing removal of tainted soils.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide