EPA concludes dust deposits at Armourdale daycare in KCK are ‘natural’ [Video]

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Results from dust samples collected by the EPA at a childcare facility in the Armourdale neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, came back clean, the Environmental Protection Agency told KSHB 41 News on Friday.

The EPA collected the dust samples on Aug. 31 at Genesis Childcare and Home Facility upon a request made by CleanAirNow (CAN), a Kansas City-based nonprofit that advocates for environmental justice. The dust had settled on outdoor playground equipment at the childcare home facility.

The childcare facility’s proximity to industrial zones, trafficways and rail yards made the owner, Ivonne Guitierrez, concerned about the dust buildup and the potential health hazards it could cause for the children she cares for, who predominately come from low-income Spanish-speaking households.

Despite her environmental concerns, Guitierrez, who advocates with CAN, refuses to move her childcare facility, which was once her family home, because it — a Head Start program — offers services to Spanish-speaking KCK families that would otherwise not be available to them.

Samples …