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In a story about a proposed steel-dust recycling facility in Muncie, IU McKinney Professor of Practice Janet McCabe voiced concerns about significant lead emissions and the impact on the environmental health of the community.

A former administrator in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation, Professor McCabe reviewed the steel-dust recycling facility’s construction-permit application and said that both mercury and lead could be a concern.

"If you have a large lead source depositing daily in your neighborhood, it's going to be extremely difficult to keep your house clean, to keep the playground clean, to keep the yard clean, what if you grow vegetables in your garden," she said. "Keeping kids safe I think is going to be really challenging with that amount of lead."

The impacts of lead poisoning are well known and lifelong and include learning disabilities, Professor McCabe told the Muncie Star Press.

Professor McCabe is also part of a broad coalition of IU McKinney students and faculty, who, along with medical professionals, legal scholars, government officials, educators, and community and child advocacy groups have signed a petition asking the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) to update its action level for childhood lead poisoning.