Experts: Children at risk of lead poisoning in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Health experts are urging people living near a Chattanooga Superfund site to have their children tested for lead contamination.

The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the Environmental Protection Agency discussed its remediation plans at a Thursday community meeting after the Southside Chattanooga Lead Site was put on the Superfund National Priorities list in September. The EPA says full remediation could take five years and cost $26 million.

Rebecca Gotham with Tennessee’s Lead Poisoning Prevention Group urged parents to contact the state or county health departments.

The Chattanooga Foundry and Pipe Co. and the Wheland Foundry shut down a dozen years ago after producing lead pipes, auto brakes, cast-iron fittings and fire hydrants for a century. The EPA says residents commonly brought lead-laced foundry waste home for use as top soil.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com