Omaha Residents Face Inconsistent Lead Cleanup Responses

Camila Ortiz González, 7, and her brother Isaías, 8 months, live in a home whose yard was cleaned by the EPA in 2012, but tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica found lead levels higher than before remediation; the agency denied their mother's request to resample. Over the past 10 months, several residents contacted authorities after tests showed lead exceeding the EPA's 400 parts per million threshold, which triggers cleanup. Three received new testing and cleanup promises, while others were denied or got no response.

One resident was told cleanup was needed, then the city reversed, saying she lived outside the primary zone. Another was denied retesting because she hadn't built or demolished anything since 2012. Peter Olson's yard, cleaned in 1999, tested high in September; the EPA only offered to examine a small area where a deck stood, leaving the rest ineligible. Mary Royers, however, got whole-yard testing and cleanup after a shed demolition and garage construction.