Do you ever wonder how industry impacts our environment? Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether our actions have a negative effect on the environment, while other times we may just not understand our impact until later. A perfect example of this is the Jacobsville neighborhood in Evansville, Indiana which was designated as a superfund site in 2004 due to high levels of lead (http://44news.wevv.com/epa-gives-update-jacobsville-superfund-site-evansville/).
Back in the late 1800’s to the 1950’s there were foundries operating in the Jacobsville neighborhood. This was before we understood how this type of industry could impact our environment and health, and before environmental regulations were in place. In 2001 it was discovered that lead and arsenic had spread across the Jacobsville neighborhood (http://www.toxicsites.us/site.php?epa_id=INN000508142). Part of the area was so badly contaminated that it required emergency cleanup in 2007 (https://indianapublicradio.org/news/2017/05/in-evansville-superfund-site-redevelopment-took-time-teamwork/).
To see what has happened in this area from the 1800’s to present day check out this great timeline by Lauren Chapman and Annie Ropeik. The cleanup process, which started in 2007, is scheduled to continue through 2020 (https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0508142). Currently Evansville is using the cleanup to their advantage by doing everything they can to redevelop the area in a way that will benefit the community and local economy. You can read more about the redevelopment projects they have going on here.
It’s pretty incredible that people have been living in the Jacobsville neighborhood all this time with serious hazards in their own yards and didn’t even know it until 50+ years later. It just goes to show you that we don’t always fully understand how we affect the environment and cleaning up our messes is no easy task. We are lucky that we have companies and skilled workers who can remediate these types of hazards and make contaminated areas livable once again.
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