Buried Truth
Omaha and the Environmental Protection Agency spent decades cleaning up dust from a lead smelter that poisoned residents. But the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica found that contamination remains.
Featured Posts in this Series
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The EPA Spent Millions Cleaning Up a Massive Superfund Site. Our Tests Found Toxic Levels of Lead in Many Yards.
The agency spent hundreds of millions on lead remediation in Omaha, Nebraska, 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.
Series Timeline
April 16, 2026
We published a guide to inform the public about what they should know about lead contamination in Omaha.
April 15, 2026
We reported that despite Omaha being home to the largest residential lead Superfund site in the country, most kids living there aren’t tested for the toxic metal.
Oct. 20, 2025
The Trump administration issued guidance tripling the amount of lead that has to be in soil to warrant potential cleanup. Before that, the EPA had been discussing expanding the Omaha cleanup, which could have included nearly 27,000 properties.
August 2025
The Flatwater Free Press in partnership with ProPublica began testing Omaha yards for lead to find out how effective the cleanup has been.
December 2015
The EPA finished the cleanup of more than 13,000 residential properties and passed the remaining work to the city of Omaha.
March 1999
The Environmental Protection Agency began testing soil from Omaha yards after concerns about elevated blood lead levels in children. The contamination was eventually tied to a smelter and factories that spewed lead dust for over a century.
14 stories published since 2025
