Jul 22, 2005 9:53 am US/Central
EPA To Test South Minneapolis Houses For Arsenic
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
The Environmental Protection Agency wants to check 600 houses and lots in South Minneapolis for arsenic.
The area to be checked is between 16th and Hiawatha Avenues in the Phillips neighborhood.
Arsenic is in the EPA's top category for carcinogens, Group A. That means there is strong evidence arsenic causes lung cancer.
Short-term exposure to arsenic dust or fumes can also produce problems like nausea, diarrhea or stomach pain.
Besides cancer, long-term exposure to arsenic can irritate the skin, nose, lips and ears.
Starting nest month, workers want to test soil from all the yards near a former pesticide plant.
Tunde Okanla is working on his rental home in South Minneapolis. He is hoping for new tenants, but also knows he is also waiting for a letter from the EPA.
"I know it is an unhealthy situation, but I don't know much more than that," Okanla said. "If the EPA feels there is a need, something serious is involved."
The EPA said 540 homes in Okanla's neighborhood need to be tested, because between 1938 and 1968, CMC Heartland Lite Yard produced pesticides that included arsenic.
Heartland ground arsenic into powder and the EPA worries the powder spread through the wind.
One woman who lives in the neighborhood said she just got her letter, asking to allow experts to come test her property.
"If I had little kids or a child care center going on here or something like that then I would definitely get involved," she said. "But for now, I'm not willing to do that."
Some residents said they do not want the EPA to dig up their lawns because it will cost them extra to replace the grass.
Michael Louder, who lives in Minneapolis, had high levels of arsenic in his yard last year. The EPA cleaned it up.
"I would say 'go for it,'" Louder said. "It's an irritant at first, but it's worth it if there's arsenic in the soil."
Random sampling will also be done for three-quarters of a mile outside the target area.
To test for arsenic, the EPA takes five samples of soil from around the yard. The holes will be no more than three inches deep.
The EPA promises not to mess up yards, unless there are high levels of arsenic.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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