Omaha Lead

Overview

The Omaha Lead Superfund Site spans a 27-square-mile area of Omaha, Nebraska. Lead smelting and refining operations at two nearby facilities released lead particles from smokestacks onto surrounding residential properties. ASARCO ran a lead refinery at 500 Douglas Street for over 125 years. Aaron Ferer and Sons Company, and later Gould Electronics, operated a lead battery recycling plant at 555 Farnam Street. The site was proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL) in February 2002 and finalized in April 2003.

Lead in soil is the primary concern. Concentrations exceed 400 parts per million (ppm), the health-based limit for residential areas. Children under seven, pregnant women, and nursing mothers face the greatest risk, mainly from ingesting contaminated soil. Some children in the historic smelting area already have elevated blood lead levels. Lead stays near the soil surface for decades, and children with lead poisoning may show no obvious symptoms. Annual blood testing is the only reliable way to detect elevated levels. The Douglas County Health Department offers free lead screening by appointment at 1111 South 41st Street, Omaha.

Between 1999 and 2015, the EPA cleaned up over 13,000 residential properties by excavating contaminated soil, replacing it with clean fill, and stabilizing lead-based paint. By December 2015, the EPA completed work at 13,090 properties, or 93% of the 14,019 that qualified. The city of Omaha and Douglas County Health Department have continued cleanup with EPA funding. As of July 2025, the city completed soil remediation at 697 more properties and paint stabilizations at 176 properties. Blood lead levels in children have dropped sharply, from over 36% of children ages 0 to 72 months testing above 10 micrograms per deciliter in the 1990s to less than 2% of children 7 and younger testing above 5 micrograms per deciliter since 2015.

The site is divided into two main operable units (OUs). OU1 addresses contaminated soils using excavation and revegetation. OU2 covers final remedial action using excavation, soil cover, institutional controls, offsite disposal, and decontamination. Construction is not yet complete across the entire site, and human exposure is not yet under control. A removal action under OU2 began in June 2024, with another estimated between July and September 2027. The most recent five-year review was completed in July 2024. Multiple partial deletions from the NPL have occurred between 2013 and 2023 as areas were cleaned up.

Community members can get involved in several ways. The City of Omaha Lead Information Office can help residents test their yards and can be reached at 402-731-3045. The Douglas County Health Department is available at 402-444-7825. Residents can also join the EPA mailing list, attend community events, review site documents at the Omaha Public Library Downtown Branch, and participate in comment periods. Property cleanup status can be tracked through the Omaha Lead Registry at omahalead.org.