Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr.

Update to George Lake/Whiting Metals Air Quality Issue


CATEGORY: Environmental Management, Mayor's Office, News

The Hammond Department of Environmental Management (HDEM) has been closely following the air sampling results for lead from the air monitoring site located at the Hammond Sanitary District Pump Station which is near the intersection of Indianapolis Boulevard and Lakeview Street. The most recent air sampling results show an average lead reading of 0.091 ug/m3 (micrograms per cubic meter of air) as part of a 3-month rolling average ending February 26, 2019. The 0.091 ug/m3 average is below the federal standard for lead which is 1.5 ug/m3.

“While this is good news for the past 3-month period HDEM advises that changes involving seasonal wind direction, facility operations, facility raw materials, and control device operation and efficiency may alter these lead readings and thus they need to be closely monitored,” stated Mayor McDermott. “We decided to release this recent data in order to provide the most up-to-date information available to Robertsdale and Whiting residents.”

HDEM is continuing to monitor the air sampling data that has been generated by state and federal authorities as well as continuing to perform residential soil sampling for residents who live in the cities of Hammond and Whiting.