The site is located in the Omaha metropolitan area and encompasses Council Bluffs, Iowa, Carter Lake, Iowa, and east Omaha. It is centered around downtown Omaha, Nebraska. ASARCO Incorporated (ASARCO) operated a lead refinery at 500 Douglas Street in Omaha, Nebraska, for over 100 years beginning in the 1870s. The operation of the refinery ceased in 1997. As a routine part of the refinery operation, lead particles were emitted into the atmosphere at the refinery. In addition, the Gould Incorporated Lead Battery Recycling Plant was located at 555 Farnam street in Omaha and was a secondary smelter of lead from discarded lead batteries. The blast furnace used to smelt the lead at the Gould plant emitted lead particles into the air from that refinery. The Gould plant closed in 1982. Several other facilities in the Omaha area used lead in their manufacturing processes. A few of these included Carter White Lead at 21st and Locust streets which produced white lead paint bases and red lead and litharge protective coatings until 1936, Omaha Shot and Lead which later became Lawrence Shot and Lead, and then became National Lead Company which manufactured lead shot by melting pig lead, Grant Storage Battery Company, Storage Battery Factory, and Exide Corporation which manufactured lead storage batteries. Numerous other locations in the Omaha area such as foundries, iron works, metal salvaging companies and other manufacturers used or processed lead at their facilities.
On November 4, 2003, an Action Memorandum Amendment was signed. This amendment changes the scope of work to identify a highly contaminated property as a residence with a soil concentration of 1,200 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) or greater, instead of the previously approved 2,500 mg/kg threshold in the original Action Memorandum.
Continued activities are being centralized from the Missouri River Treatment Plant located at 5600 S 10th Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68107-3501. The city of Omaha has partnered with the u.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow the use of a portion of the facility.
There were 3 homes that were back-filled this week operating with two crews under this removal action. The sod sub-contractor finished 4 properties during the week. Most of the week's activities included preparing for the winter break.
Attached is a table that lists the work progress for this reporting period including project totals.
Continued prioritization will be given to those residences where children six years of age or younger live.
Work activities concluded on December 20, 2003. The site will shut-down for approximately 3 months. This shut-down is needed due to the sub-contractor who supplies and lays the sod not being able to cut the sod during the winter months.
The Missouri River Treatment facility is expected to allow the EPA to utilize a portion of the facility all of next year. The city has already offered to extend the current access agreement with the EPA that presently expires in May 2004.
Some equipment and supplies will be secured and stored at the facility during the winter break.
There is a list of over 400 properties, with greater than 1,200 ppm lead, that are currently being prioritized for the next phase of the project, currently scheduled for March/April 2004.
The initial prioritization will be given toward children with elevated blood lead levels and other high risk factors such as highly contaminated properties. After those prioritized properties have been cleaned up, geographic locations will be utilized to maximize available resources.
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