Comments

1
Thanks for bringing attention to this. I'm a journalism grad student at UO and I live in Kenton, so I've been researching this "hot spot" with a few other students since the first Forest Service data was released in February. We collected many soil samples and found some lead pollution in most of them, but we learned that is fairly typical for an old Portland neighborhood like ours. In looking for possible sources, we were surprised to learn that the use of leaded gas is permitted at nearby Portland International Raceway. However, we think the elevated sample in 2013 was more likely the result of an isolated short term contamination, like the home demolition you mention, than an ongoing problem at a nearby facility or the racetrack. You can see the results of our research, including an interactive map and a short film about the investigation, here: KentonLeadBlob.com.
2
It really bears looking into the demolitions as sources of the contamination. The city offices at BDS, OSHA, Oregon Construction Contractors Board, DEQ, and EPA were all unconcerned when my neighbors and I inquired about a sloppy demolition in our neighborhood--no fence around the property, no masks or hardhats for the workers, no containment or attempt to keep the lead paint-laden dust down. With the number of demolitions in residential neighborhoods lately, we need to know if how much demos are contributing to high levels of lead contamination.

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