East Chicago, Indiana - August 24, 2016
Nayesa Walker explains to her son Kajuan Lott, 3, at left, with Martell France, 4, why they can't play in the grass in the West Calumet Housing Complex in East Chicago, Indiana. Walker's daughter Kaelynn Lott had blood lead levels test results just below the CDC’s 5 mg/d threshold for action.
The West Calumet Housing Complex, which is currently home to about 1,200 people, is located on a 79-acre Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site where a USS Lead facility was located in East Chicago, Indiana. Up until 1985, a lead refinery, a copper smelter and a secondary lead smelter were also in the area. The houses were built between the late 1960s and early 1970s.
CREDIT: Alyssa Schukar for The New York Times 30194607A
