BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new report from Open Buffalo shows dangerously high levels of lead in dirt outside homes on Buffalo's East Side.
The grassroots group completed its East Side Soil Project by testing the yards of more than 130 homes. The study found 70% of the properties had more than three times the limit considered safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
These homes stretch from East Ferry, Jefferson and Hamlin Park. Open Buffalo revealed the results at a news conference on Tuesday.
"What did we find? The results were alarming," Max Anderson of Open Buffalo said.
For years, East Side residents have faced elevated lead levels, and now it is in their soil.
"If you don't know, lead is neurotoxic, and there's no safe level of lead in our blood and in our bodies," Anderson said.
"I was really shocked to see how much lead is actually growing on our property," Deborah Fugate said.
Fugate, a Hamlin Park resident, loves to garden and grow her own food, which is why she wanted her soil tested. She appeared at Tuesday’s news conference.
"It's very important for me now, okay, besides the worms, what else is in here?” Fugate asked.
Fugate allowed me to visit her backyard, where she loves to work in the dirt.
"I know now I'm not putting potatoes in the ground or my carrots," Fugate commented. "I'm growing them in the bags."
The contaminated soil is even suspected of causing illness and behavioral troubles in children.
"We have some pretty alarming statistics in the report about the number of young folks between kindergarten and second grade who receive suspension in Buffalo Public Schools," Anderson said.
"I've seen a child sick from lead poisoning, and it's, it's very scary, very scary," Fugate said.
I asked James Golden of Open Buffalo, where he believes the source of lead found in Fugate's yard is coming from.
"Because it's been a century of industrial pollution, and there's so many different sources, proximity to 33 being one of them, it's difficult to identify the source," James Golden answered.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation helped pay for the soil study and will announce grant money for community projects this spring.
WATCH: 'Results were alarming': High lead levels found in soil outside homes on Buffalo's East Side
Alanah Keddell-Tuckey, director for the Office of Environmental Justice at DEC, also appeared at Tuesday’s news conference. She said they have been distributing community impact grants since, and this year now marks the 20th year of giving.
"We really are looking to assist communities in developing and implementing programs and creating reports that address these historical environmental harms and health hazards and help build community consensus awareness," Keddell-Tuckey said
The DEC leader also announced the federal EPA will test lead levels near a former lead smelter on East Ferry Street.
"We formally submitted a request to the United States Environmental Protection Agency to perform an assessment on the lead levels near the former lead smelter on East Ferry Street. The EPA has accepted the referral, and they're going to be moving forward with the assessment of the lead levels," Keddell-Tuckey said
Open Buffalo is working to help make neighborhoods, like the East Side, a safe place to live, work, and play.
"To be able to send our children out to play. I don't want my children to put their fingers in their mouths when they're playing in the dirt, but we know that it happens, and we wonder why we see a spike in violence in our communities. Why our children can't stay seated in seats. Our bodies are now riddled with toxins and lead contaminants," Francelle Parker, executive director of Open Buffalo, said.
