By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LIBERTY TWP. - An Ohio lawmaker announced late Tuesday that he plans to propose new legislation soon to increase disclosure of possible problems in new housing developments.

State Rep. Gary Cates, R-West Chester Township, said he finds the situation at the lead-and-arsenic contaminated Lexington Manor subdivision "absolutely deplorable." He wants to make sure there is full disclosure of land's history when it is sold and turned into subdivisions.

Lexington Manor was built on 25 acres that formerly held a skeet shooting range. Despite remediation efforts before homes were built in 2001, high levels of lead and arsenic have been found in yards.

The subdivision, where homes ranged from $190,000 to $330,000, is now a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site and is about to be cleaned.

"There needs to be an increased threshold. We need to do everything humanly possible to keep another Lexington Manor from happening," Cates said. "When you buy your home, the soil should be safe. We don't know how many more time bombs we are sitting on out there in the state. There could be other skeet shooting ranges that are going to be developed into homes."

Cates' statements came at the close of a public meeting the U.S. EPA, state health officials and others held at Liberty Township hall to outline the upcoming cleanup.

It's expected to begin Monday with nearly 15,000 samples taken of the entire subdivision to determine the extent of cleanup. Dirt excavation is expected to begin in late October and last three to six months.

Details of Cates' legislation weren't available Tuesday.

Cates noted that homeowners must disclose flaws when they sell their homes or land. Those selling land for housing, developing the land and selling the homes must be held to the same standards, he said.

Steven Renninger, the on-scene coordinator in the Superfund division of the U.S. EPA's Cincinnati office, said the agency still is looking into whether laws were violated when the developer had the lead remediated.

Lexington Manor health consultation

Lead can damage the brain, nervous system, kidneys and other tissues. Children are especially susceptible. There are no indications that anyone at Lexington Manor has been sickened from lead exposure.

But it is likely that before grass was grown in yards at the lead-and-arsenic contaminated subdivision Lexington Manor, residents - especially children - were exposed to high levels of lead in uncovered soils and airborne dust created during construction, a state report shows.

On the basis of extremely high levels of lead in soils and the likelihood that residents were exposed to contaminated soils in the past and could be exposed currently or in the future, Lexington Manor poses a "public health hazard" to its residents, concludes the report, prepared by the Ohio Department of Health and recently mailed to Lexington Manor residents

The report included recommendations for residents to maintain good housekeeping activities to reduce their chance of exposure to lead-contaminated soils:

  Wash hands frequently when engaged in outdoor activities.

  Avoid planting root crops, such as potatoes, carrots and beets. These crops have the potential to absorb lead and/or arsenic from the soil.

  Keep grass alive to minimize airborne dust.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.