BUTTE — At a corner lot on Platinum Street —one of a dozen streets named after metals on Butte’s west side— the attic in a home is being cleaned by the Butte-Silver Bow County Residential Metals Abatement Program (RMAP). The team cleans toxic heavy metals from attics and yards in Butte.
It is arduous work requiring hazmat suits and bulky equipment that can be a heavy burden in both the dead of winter and the boiling heat of summer.
According to EPA data, as of 2023, RMAP has cleaned approximately 1,500 properties.
New lead guidelines from EPA have many in Butte calling for faster cleanup
Last fall, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced a new cleanup level of 175 parts per million lead in soil and interior dust, replacing the current action level of 1,200 parts per million that requires cleanup. The plan also extends the cleanup boundary that consists …