Toxic lead is still in the ground in Omaha, and whether a family gets help cleaning it up depends less on how much lead is in their yard than on where they happen to live.

Investigators from the Flatwater Free Press and ProPublica tested soil across Omaha and found many yards, some already remediated by the government, still contain enough lead to qualify for cleanup under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules. The responses residents got when they asked for help were inconsistent. Some received new testing and cleanup. Others were denied, or never heard back at all.

One mother, known only as Sabrina to protect her children's privacy, learned that three of her kids had lead in their blood. Investigators tested her yard and found lead at twice the level the EPA's own 2003 records showed.

She asked for a new test.

The city refused, saying no construction had been done on the property.

Another resident called the city 14 times and was still turned down.

The EPA also quietly tripled the amount of lead required in soil before it will even consider cleanup, a change that could leave tens of thousands of Omaha properties without help.

No child's health should depend on an arbitrary boundary line. The EPA and the city of Omaha must apply the same standard to every contaminated yard and retest any home where a child has lead in their blood.

Sign this petition to demand the EPA and Omaha protect every family equally.