By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LIBERTY TWP. - Contractors working for the developer of a subdivision under state investigation for lead hazards tried to use a rototiller to dilute the concentration of tainted soil by mixing it with clean soil.

A controversy about high lead content in parts of the Lexington Manor subdivision in Liberty Township has been brewing since late last year. The homes sit on 25 acres that used to be a clay pigeon skeet shooting range, where lead shot fell into the soil, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Now, some homeowners want more effort to clean up the soil and others want to sell. Ohio EPA officials are investigating whether the lead was properly treated and if there are health hazards.

So far, there are no indications that anyone has suffered health problems from exposure to the soil.

However, the rototilling attempt - revealed in newly released documents provided to the Ohio EPA - failed to fix the problem and surprised state officials that it was attempted at all.

"We were surprised basically to be made aware someone went out there and (rototilled) given the lead levels that were out there," said Harold O'Connell, a manager in OEPA's Dayton hazardous waste division. "We don't have the record yet of all the details associated with the soil management activities. But some of those samplings were extremely high."

Lead exposure damages the brain, nervous system, kidneys and other tissues. At high levels, it can be deadly. At chronic lower levels, lead can hurt learning ability, damage short-term memory, and increase the likelihood of criminal behavior.

Lead-impacted soils at Lexington Manor were rototilled and mixed with clean soil in an effort to reduce the concentration of lead in March 2000. The rototilling was done by contractors working for HT Investments Inc., of Fairfield, state records show.

When further testing showed that wasn't effective in reducing the lead content, HT Investments' owner, Harry Thomas Jr., had the high lead concentrated soils treated with lime to render it nonhazardous, then buried five months later, in August 2000, records show.

This, too, appears to have proved ineffective because high lead concentrations turned up late last year.

The rototilling was criticized by an environmental consultant.

"The solution to pollution is not dilution," said Phillip Hayden, owner of Hayden Environmental Group in Dayton. "I learned that a long time ago. I am sure the EPA is thinking the same thing."

After learning of the rototilling at Lexington Manor, OEPA managers said this week they plan to ask the contractor for details of how it was conducted.

Meanwhile, the subdivision's builder, Ryland Homes, has paid for two rounds of testing on nearly all the lots. The builder is waiting for OEPA officials to review those tests and advise how to proceed.

Thomas has not returned previous calls for comment on Lexington Manor, referring questions to Ryland.

On Friday, one of Thomas' attorneys, Joseph Reidy of Columbus, said the rototilling was done on the advice of a Blue Ash environmental consulting company, The Payne Firm Inc., that was hired in 2000 to help clean up the land before homes were built.

"That recommendation was based on the 1995 Housing and Urban Development guidance entitled `Guidelines for the Evaluation and Control of Lead-Based Paint Hazards in Housing,'" Reidy said. "(The developer) has no background in evaluation or remediation of lead in soils. That's what they hired The Payne Firm for."

It was unclear Friday why HUD's lead-based paint procedure was used, since the source of contamination was lead shot.

Payne Firm officials did not return calls Friday for comment.

Documents OEPA requested show that Ray Hensley Inc. was hired to test rototilling as a means of achieving target concentration.

"The rototilling was performed with a large, specialized tilling machine designed to thoroughly mix soil to a pre-determined depth," states a Feb. 13 letter from The Payne Firm to Reidy.

After the rototilling, soil sampling "indicated lower total lead results, but this initial degree of tilling did not achieve the target concentrations for these areas," the letter reads.

Eventually, the lead-impacted soils were treated with lime to render them nonhazardous and buried 20 feet underground, deeper than OEPA's requirements of 10 feet, documents show.

Anne Madison, a Ryland Homes spokeswoman, has said the company - one of the largest homebuilders in the country - is doing everything it can to alleviate the situation.

But several Lexington Manor residents are furious Ryland did not disclose the lead situation.

Madison has said it was not necessary to inform residents. Ryland, she stressed, had been assured the land was safe to build homes on in a September 2000 letter from Payne to HT Investments that was copied to Ryland.

"There was no issue," Madison has said. "We did everything right."

One Lexington Manor family, Robin and Ed Lumbert, sued Ryland in January, asking the courts to order Ryland to buy back their $275,500 home and pay moving expenses and damages.

This week, the Lumberts were upset when their Realtor told them he would not list their home until the lead problem had been cleared up.

"They don't even want to risk the liability of listing it," Robin Lumbert said. "I have a house that should have appreciated in value and now I can't even get a reputable Realtor to list this.

"This is my worst nightmare. I have a fenced yard and my kids have to play in the road. We never should have been put in this position."

At least 10 other Lexington Manor families have retained an attorney, who told the Enquirer Friday he will announce next week how the residents want their neighborhood cleaned of lead.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.