Apr. 2—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will resume lead-contaminated soil cleanup in residential yards starting in early April, according to a press release from the EPA. The cleanup will occur near the former Exide Battery facility at 303 Water St in Logansport.

Last fall, cleanup of five residential yards were completed, and 15 properties are now to be addressed. Cleanup is anticipated to last through the summer, and these cleanups will be completed at no cost to property owners or residents. The EPA will clean up yards that have lead concentrations above the EPA’s risk-based cleanup standard.

Residents should expect increased traffic in the neighborhood while crews remove contaminated soil, the press release says. The EPA will monitor the air at the site and in the neighborhood during excavation, and crews will take precautionary measures to make sure the contaminated soil remains securely contained when hauled away to the approved landfill.

Exide Technologies was a lead-acid storage battery manufacturing facility for the automotive industry from 1960 to 1989. It shut down in 2009, with the building being demolished in 2016 and the property sitting vacant since then.

The EPA and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management previously tested soil near the former facility for lead contamination. There, they found elevated lead levels on some properties.

High lead levels pose health risks, especially to children’s health. Lead can adversely affect the nervous system, kidney function, immune system, reproductive and developmental systems and the cardiovascular system, according to the press release. Infants and young children are especially sensitive to lead exposures, which may contribute to behavioral problems, learning deficits and lowered IQ.

For more information about the cleanup and soil sampling, visit response.epa.gov.