By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Workers dig behind houses on Furlong Way in the Lexington Manor subdivision in Liberty Township on Tuesday. They are stripping off the top layer of soil that is contaminated with lead from an old shooting range. The Cincinnati Enquirer/GLENN HARTONG

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP - Workers wearing protective face masks and hard hats have begun the task of removing 25,000 tons of contaminated soil from Lexington Manor subdivision, Greater Cincinnati's largest residential lead contamination site.

Plastic sheets were spread along the front sidewalk at 2815 Furlong Way to catch any dirt that spilled when a front-end loader dropped soil into a waiting dump truck.

"We must make sure that the clean soil is not affected by the impacted soil," said Winfield Ziegenfuss Jr., Ryland Homes vice president for land operations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared the 26-acre subdivision a Superfund clean-up site last May. Soil samples last year showed hazardous lead levels - up to 10,000 parts per million - far above the federal standard of 400 parts per million as toxic.

Ryland Homes will pay an estimated $2.5 million for cleaning the site, which was the Hamilton Sportsman's Association shooting range until 1969.

Ryland has agreed to remove and replace contaminated soil from around 32 of the 42 homes constructed since 2001. The company, after being sued by homeowners last spring, has repurchased 27 homes for a total of $7.88 million.

Most of the excavations will be 2 feet deep or less, Ziegenfuss said Tuesday. Several will be 4 to 5 feet deep, and one area behind homes on Palomino Lane and Back Trail Court will be 19 feet.

The tainted soil will be treated with a phosphate-based additive to stabilize the lead, so it "locks into the soil" and doesn't leach, said Wayne Lawrence, project manager for Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Sharonville consultant hired by Ryland.

Most of the treated soil will be hauled to the Epperson Waste Disposal landfill near Williamstown in Grant County, Ky., Ziegenfuss said. Some will go to Rumpke in Colerain Township.

Six of the eight driveways on Palomino Lane will be destroyed to remove lead under the pavement. But none of the two-story homes - ranging in value from $199,000 to $354,000 - will be demolished.

New soil will be trucked into the subdivision after the excavated lots are tested.

The clean-up will be completed by about August, then Ryland will put the homes back on the market.

Ryland's remediation plan will be explained to the public at 7 p.m. May 5 at a U.S. EPA meeting in the Liberty Township building, 6400 Princeton Road.

E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com