MEETING POSTPONED: EPA Public Availability on March 12 to Discuss the Westside Lead Cleanup in Atlanta, Georgia Postponed

Public Availability for Westside Lead Cleanup to be rescheduled

March 11, 2020

ATLANTA (March 11, 2020) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is postponing the public availability for the Westside Lead Cleanup in Atlanta on Thursday, March 12, 2020. This decision is due to the YMCA of Metro Atlanta – Leadership & Learning Center making the decision to cancel public activities amid heightened concern around the COVID-19 coronavirus. EPA is currently considering alternatives and will notify residents as soon as the meeting is rescheduled.

Site Background

In 2018, an Emory University doctoral student shared data with the EPA showing elevated lead levels collected from soil samples in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods. Research by the EPA led to the discovery of industrial smelting waste, called “slag,” on two lots near Elm Street. EPA has initiated an investigation into the contamination. Currently, EPA has sampled just over 120 properties in the English Avenue neighborhood, with approximately half of the properties showing lead concentrations above EPA’s health-based risk values. This soil poses a health risk to residents, and EPA is initiating a removal action to reduce the threat.

For more information: www.epa.gov/superfund/westside-lead.