ABOUT THIS PROJECT
For more than a century, a smelting plant in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, spewed lead-laced smoke across the city. As the toxic metal drifted toward the ground, approximately 400 million pounds of it — nearly the weight of Chicago’s Willis Tower — settled into the soil and bodies of countless Omahans. Since 1999, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the city of Omaha have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to clean it up.
Flatwater Free Press is partnering with ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom, to find out how effective they’ve been and see what questions are still out there about one of the largest residential environmental cleanups in America.
Stories in this project
The EPA was considering a massive lead cleanup in Omaha. Then Trump shifted guidance.
Tens of thousands of Omahans have dangerous levels of lead in their yards, experts say. Growing momentum to do more cleanup in what is already the nation’s largest residential lead Superfund site now may stall.
Dec. 11, 2025
Omaha Is Home to a Massive Superfund Site. Most Kids Living There Aren’t Tested for Lead.
For more than a century, a smelter and other factories spewed 400 million pounds of lead dust across the city’s east side. Faced with similar concerns, 13 states passed laws requiring all kids to get a blood test before kindergarten. But not Nebraska.
April 15
What You Should Know About Lead Contamination in Omaha
For more than a century, factories spewed toxic dust across the city, contaminating the soil and causing lead poisoning. We talked to experts about how to stay safe from lead exposure.
April 16
The EPA heralds its Omaha cleanup as a success. But we found many yards still have toxic levels of lead.
The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, home of the nation’s largest residential Superfund site. New soil tests by the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica show that many yards still have harmful levels of lead.
Aug. 4
The EPA doesn’t typically retest homes in the country’s largest residential lead Superfund site. So we did.
The Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica independently tested hundreds of homes in eastern Omaha and found toxic levels of lead in soil throughout — including in yards that the EPA remediated years ago. Here’s how we did it.
Aug. 4