USA Today has come out with an incredible report on long-forgotten “ghost factories,” where lead was processed before the Environmental Protection Agency was created. Following up on research by the environmental scientist William Eckel, reporters used old Sanborn Maps, directories, and historical photos to identify more than 230 former lead factory sites around the country. They conducted hundreds of soil tests and found that many of the neighborhoods where these factories once existed have unsafe levels of lead in the upper layers of the soil.
The contamination is not limited to properties where smelting took place. Lead dust released from smokestacks blew into the surrounding neighborhoods, where it was supplemented by lead from paint and particles emitted from vehicles that burned leaded gasoline, creating a serious health threat for the young children who live and play there.
Among the sites USA Today identified was Red Hook Park in Brooklyn, where baseball diamonds sit on land once used for smelting lead. The park was closed temporarily in March after the newspaper shared its soil test results with the city officials.
The article is a stark reminder to landscape architects of the importance of historical analysis and soil testing—especially in neighborhoods where heavy industry once thrived. To see a map of the former factory sites identified by USA Today, click here.
Leave a Reply