EPA Answers Questions From East Chicago Residents On Remediation

Environmental Protection Agency representatives fielded questions over the weekend about clean-up of a lead-contaminated Superfund site in East Chicago, Indiana.

Most of the questions centered around identifying contractors, the timeline of work, and details of what remediation entails. On March 21, the EPA announced a new settlement to pay for clean-up efforts in Zones 2 and 3 of the Superfund.

But some, like Maria Watson, questioned the efficiency of clean-up efforts and the EPA’s commitment to residents in the Superfund.

“I mean really, are we ever going to be lead free?” Watson says.

Maritza Lopez, the community organizer who organized the meeting, says the back-and-forth between EPA representatives and residents was important.

“Having answers and being able to ask them questions, that alleviates a lot of the stress,” Lopez says. “Even though, if they say, I can’t answer that, at least just having them physically there… that helps give some resolve on that portion.”

Lopez says her group plans to work with the EPA to get more specific answers for residents as clean-up starts again on April 17.