EPA maintains outdated lead standards in East Omaha despite evidence of widespread contamination

More than half of the homes tested in the East Omaha residential Superfund site in Nebraska have lead concentrations considered unsafe under current health science, yet the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has not mandated cleanup for these properties. The agency’s current standard for the site remains at 400 parts per million (ppm), a threshold established in 2009 based on 1994 health recommendations. New testing conducted by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica of 388 homes found that 208 properties exceeded 100 ppm, a level identified by the EPA’s own risk models as necessary to protect children’s cognitive development under updated science.

The EPA has not reevaluated its cleanup guidelines for this specific site in 17 years, despite significant advancements in understanding the health impacts of low-level lead exposure. Research now indicates that lower exposures can cause IQ loss in children and heart attacks in adults. An EPA risk model determined that to protect most children according to these new health guidelines, soil levels would need to be below 100 ppm. However, the agency has never required this level of cleanup in Omaha or as a national remediation standard.

A March 2024 email from an EPA manager to a Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy official indicated that EPA testing found 84% of the Superfund site, comprising more than 36,000 properties, had areas with lead concentrations above 100 ppm. Despite these figures, the EPA is currently testing soil around Omaha this summer to determine if the site’s boundaries should be expanded or if cleanup standards should be lowered. Findings from this investigation are not expected until October 2027.

The regulatory landscape for lead cleanup has shifted significantly in recent years. In 2024, the Biden administration issued guidance lowering the lowest screening level for lead in soil to 100 ppm. Later that year, the Trump administration issued guidance tripling the amount of lead required in soil to warrant potential cleanup, raising the lowest screening level from 100 ppm to 200 ppm. Previous reporting indicated that one in ten homes that had already undergone remediation still contained lead concentrations above the current 400 ppm threshold.

Residents living in areas with lead levels between 100 ppm and 400 ppm face a regulatory gap where contamination is deemed risky but does not qualify for government-funded cleanup. Natalie Thorpe, a resident whose daughter tested high for lead as a baby, described the situation as feeling like being a sitting duck. The EPA states that removing lead from soil is only one factor in protecting communities and points to other measures such as the Omaha Lead Registry and funding for local health department prevention programs. However, experts note that while these measures lower risk, they are not a long-term solution to the underlying contamination.