Residents of Treece will be tested for lead poisoning next week, in response to concerns expressed to high-level federal officials who recently visited the contaminated southeast Kansas community.
In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency will install air monitors to check for airborne lead and other possible contaminants.
The lead testing, on Sept. 8 and 9, will be open to all residents and will be the first comprehensive program of its kind in Treece.
The air monitoring will be the first since 1993, said David Bryan, a spokesman for the EPA.
Tonya Kirk, a City Council member and mother of three, said she's pleased that the testing is beginning.
"I think it's a good deal," Kirk said.
Of her three sons, only the youngest, 4-year-old Colton, has been tested.
His lead level was eight micrograms per deciliter, about four times the national average for his age but less than the 10 that the Centers for Disease Control considers hazardous, Kirk said.
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