AJC gets it right

It's easy for some in the local blogging community to treat our local newspaper as irrelvant, what with their repeated downsizing and the growing conventional wisdom that their eventual death and closure (and that of most major newspapers) is all but certain. But once in awhile, the AJC rises up and reminds us that news of their imminent demise is greatly exaggerated, and they can still put forth excellent local reporting of importance.

Yesterday's paper featured a fascinating story from AJC reporter Alison Young about the site of a former lead smelter in Atlanta's Morningside neighborhood, which may still be the source of some particularly scary pollution. Young's story is well-researched and incredibly thought provoking, particularly considering that numerous very expensive neighborhoods border the former smelter site. It appears that the entities who owned the site after the smelter was shut down have never bothered to undertake any sort of cleanup or remediation efforts at the site, so nearby families may still be exposed to unsafe levels of lead poisoning.

As a resident of Morningside who nearly bought a house just around the corner from that site, I was shocked to find that an obvious pollution source was sitting there unquestioned in what is otherwise a fairly active and vocal neighborhood. I am willing to bet most of the people who live in the area are similarly unaware and will be quite horrified to read this story. Already the article has resulted in an EPA investigation to determine if the federal Superfund program should mount a cleanup operation. (Interestingly, the state's environmental cleanup fund is broke and can't afford to provide any assistance here.)

Given that the City of Atlanta is currently in the throes of some fairly important elections, it will be interesting to see if this becomes an issue. Young should be commended for bringing attention to a story that we might never otherwise have heard about, and potentially saving families from future health effects due to exposure to lead in the area. Nice work, AJC.