Ash from IN Training Burn Contained Lead
By Boris Ladwig
Source Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.
Nov. 12—Bloomington residents affected by the lead paint fallout from a recent training fire will receive kits from university researchers so they can test paint chips, dust and earthworms for lead contamination.
John Shukle, a doctoral student at the School of Science at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, told residents in a Zoom call Wednesday that they would find test kits in their mailboxes or at their door, and IUPUI would process the tests free of charge. The kits will include instructions and testing materials.
Shukle works in the laboratory of biogeochemist Gabriel Filippelli, executive director of IU's Environmental Resilience Institute. Filippelli on Wednesday had preliminarily confirmed the presence of lead in chips that were brought to his lab.
The Bloomington Fire Department on Friday burned a house at 1213 S. High St. as part of training exercises. Residents in the area reported dust and paint chips falling onto their neighborhood, mostly west of the fire.
Bloomington City Council member Dave Rollo organized a Wednesday night Zoom call to allow affected residents to ask questions and to provide them with some answers from Shukle and other scientists.
Dr. Indra Frank, environmental health director for the Hoosier Environmental Council, told Zoom call participants that lead can damage the human nervous system, especially a developing one such as those of children and fetuses.
Children who are exposed to even minor amounts of lead can suffer permanent damage that lowers their IQ and increases their risk for behavior problems and attention deficit disorders.
Frank said a child is considered to have lead poisoning if they have 3.5 micrograms per deciliter of blood in their system. It takes 450 million micrograms to make one pound.
Frank urged residents in affected areas:
— Avoid ingesting or inhaling lead dust.
— Wipe surfaces with a damp cloth.
— Close windows.
— Refrain from using leaf blowers and mowers until the dust and paint chips have been mitigated.
— Don't use a broom for dust on surfaces such as driveways because that will just kick lead dust into the air.
— If you're working to collect lead paint chips or wiping surfaces, wear a face mask and gloves.
The city said in a news release Wednesday evening that residents can dispose of bagged debris in specially marked receptacles that were placed in the area Sunday.
Leah Wood, another doctoral student in Filippelli's lab, said some of the concentrations of lead in the paint chip samples were so high that they were measured in parts per hundred rather than parts per million. On average, the 38 samples the lab analyzed contained 2.5% lead, with some reaching near 10%.
"These are extremely high lead values," Wood said.
She also said she expected the lead levels to fade the further the chips were collected from the burn site, but to her surprise, some of the paint chips with the highest levels were collected the furthest from the fire.
The city also said fire department crews "have been surveying the vicinity, collecting debris, and going door to door to survey residents, answer questions, and document any dissemination of debris daily."
The city has contracted with Environmental Assurance Co. to conduct cleanup efforts and VET Environmental Engineering to assess debris dispersal and potential environmental effects.
"EACI and VET are evaluating approximately 102 properties that were downwind of the fire ... including seven properties in the immediate remediation area," the city said. "Together, the companies have approximately 18 staff members on the job. Crews have prioritized cleanup of paint flakes. Results of dust testing are pending."
The city did not immediately respond to an inquiry about cleanup costs Thursday morning, a federal holiday, but Rollo said early estimates indicated cleanup costs could be thousands of dollars per home.
Rollo and council member Susan Sandberg said Wednesday's meeting served to provide answers to residents and to prevent the spreading of rumors because of the current information vacuum.
Rollo said the meeting would have been better if it had included city staff, and he said he originally proposed a full council meeting to include Mayor John Hamilton.
"That invitation was declined," Rollo said.
A spokeswoman for the Hamilton administration said it "did not consider a presentation to council on Wednesday an effective way to address resident concerns.
"(Bloomington Fire Chief Jason) Moore was personally addressing the issue at the time of the meeting last night, coordinating until almost midnight with residents who reached out looking for guidance."
"The city has provided information and resources to residents as swiftly and thoroughly as possible from the start, and continues to do so, focusing now on clean up and public health and safety," spokeswoman Yael Ksander said.
The city has set up a website with information about the fire fallout at bloomington.in.gov/bfdburninfo.
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