NAACP To Help East Chicago Residents Test For Lead

Unable to load the audio player.
You could try direct download?

Original story from IPBS-RJC

Nick Janzen

Article origination IPBS-RJC

The Calumet neighborhood in East Chicago is part of a federal toxic waste cleanup site contaminated with lead and arsenic.
*Annie Ropeik/IPB News*

The Indiana NAACP will teach East Chicago residents how to use lead testing kits this week. The training comes as residents continue to cope with lead contaminated soil and water.

The Calumet neighborhood in East Chicago is part of a federal toxic waste cleanup site contaminated with lead and arsenic. The neighborhood is also having a problem with lead leaching out of drinking water service lines.

The NAACP is partnering with Indiana State University and the Union of Concerned Scientists to teach residents how to use kits to test for lead in soil, air, and water. The NAACP’s Denise Abdul-Rahman says it will also help school-aged children cope with a legacy of lead contamination.

“[It will] peak their consciousness and awareness,” Abdul-Rahman says, and “give them tools, and to teach them some forms of empowerment.”

Abdul-Rahman says the training is necessary because of a systemic failure of government at all levels to protect some of Indiana’s most vulnerable residents.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to remove lead contaminated soil from the neighborhood. And the Department of Housing and Urban Development recently approved the demolition of a lead contaminated housing complex which was forcibly evacuated over the last year.

Support independent journalism today. You rely on WFYI to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Donate to power our nonprofit reporting today. Give now.

The Secret Service is investigating how a gunman who shot and injured Trump was able to get so close

The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania.

Public Affairs / July 2, 2024

GOP US Rep. Spartz, of Indiana, charged with bringing gun through airport security, officials say

Authorities say Indiana Republican U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz has been charged with bringing a firearm through airport security. Airport officials said Monday she was charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor. Spartz's office says she was traveling to Europe and mistakenly carried an unloaded handgun in the pocket of her suitcase while going through security at Washington Dulles International Airport. Spartz is a staunch Second Amendment Republican representing central Indiana. She won her primary in May after saying last year that she would retire from congress. The charge carries up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine if convicted.