News Releases - 2002

Residential Soil Removals Begin At Two East St. Louis Sites

Springfield, Ill. -- The Illinois EPA has begun removal of soils, contaminated with elevated levels of lead, from two areas in East St. Louis: the Adept Tool site, located at 1318 N. 18th Street and the East St. Louis Awning Company, 1901 Ridge Avenue.

The work is being conducted in response to a study that found the soil in many areas of East St. Louis contained high levels of lead. The 1999 study, conducted by the Metro-East Lead Collaborative Partnership, examined the problem of high levels of lead found in the blood of local children. The Metro-East Lead Collaborative Partnership includes the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the Illinois EPA, the Illinois Department of Public Health, St. Mary's Hospital and several other local community, county and state organizations.

During the study, the MELC Partnership learned that the City of East St. Louis has numerous idle lead smelters, junkyards and abandoned industrial sites that have contributed to the elevated lead levels discovered in the East St. Louis area.

The Adept Tool site, a machinery manufacturer that operated prior to 1958 is currently unused, with a deteriorated concrete foundation occupying the majority of the site. Illegal household waste disposal occurs on most areas of the site. The site investigation conducted by the Illinois EPA in the spring of 2002 revealed elevated levels of lead in soil on the site and on some of the surrounding properties.

The East St. Louis Awning Company was a metal awning and ornamental metal fabricator that operated at the property prior to 1958. The site is currently unused, with a two-story brick building covering most of the property. In May of 2002, the Illinois EPA conducted soil investigations and determined that 21 of 43 nearby properties would require soil removal in order to minimize the risk associated with the elevated levels of lead.

The soil that is removed will be replaced with clean soil and will be reseeded with a grass seed mixture. Any ornamental plants that are removed during excavation will be replaced with similar plants.

As part of the overall program, the Metro-East Lead Collaborative Partnership Provided blood lead screening was over 3,500 children in the area; 30 properties have been assessed; and four industrial sites and 10 residential areas have cleaned. In addition, three focus areas have been identified for redevelopment.