Soil at a forgotten lead plant in the Chicago area is dangerously contaminated, putting children and other area residents at risk, according to data released this week by the environmental protection Agency.

EPA tests of contractors vacant lots where Loewenthal Metals worked in the 1940s found widespread lead contamination, and samples containing 57 times as much lead the Agency considers dangerous in bare soil where children play.

Because of the danger at the site, the EPA said it would begin the process to make a “time critical” cleanup of the property, which is near homes and down the street from Walsh elementary school in the Pilsen area of the city.

The EPA tested the site, at the request of Illinois regulators, in response to findings in the U.S. TODAY of a “Ghost factories” investigation that featured Loewenthal metals in a series of reports last April. U.S. soil tests today around the Loewenthal site found high levels of lead near the plant property and in the yards of the neighborhood home.

The action in Chicago is the latest by Federal and state regulators on dozens of sites across the country in response to the US series TODAY, which is online at ghostfactories.usatoday.com.

Properties adjacent to the Loewenthal site will have their soil tested to determine the extent of lead contamination, the EPA said. The Agency did not respond to questions Wednesday about when off-site testing would begin or how far it would spread to neighborhoods if contamination is on adjacent properties.

It is also unclear how soon the cleanup of the former factory property will begin. The epa’s inspection of the facility was delayed in part because the Agency had to obtain a court order to access the property. The Agency said on its website that it must ask the property owner’s permission to do the cleanup, but if it is not given, the Agency may have to go to court again.

State and Federal environmental regulators conducted initial tests of the facility in 2006, which also found dangerous levels of lead. Their report at the time noted that “the possibility of exposure is high” because so many people walk and on property. The report was filed without action before US TODAY began asking questions in 2011, and the site remained unapproved until December.

The latest EPA report on the site, from Monday, notes that the contaminated property is in a residential area, that the community garden is nearby and a popular footpath and sidewalk borders it. Humans and animals are at risk of exposure to high levels of lead, arsenic and other pollutants found at the site, the report said.

Lead is one of the biggest environmental threats to children, who are exposed when they swallow it, often by putting dust-covered hands or toys in their mouths. Regular exposure to even tiny particles of lead can lead to loss of intelligence, ADHD, behavioral problems and other health problems.

For more information on the Loewenthal Metals site, including videos, details of U.S. soil test results TODAY and a historical map showing the plant when it was in operation, go to: http://usat.ly/R5r4fK