<p>Construction workers halted work and families have considered moving due to concerns about air contamination in Franklin.</p>
<p>During the last few weeks, Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett has had multiple meetings and phone calls about the concerns raised by a group of parents about possible contamination in the city.</p>
<p>And he wants those concerns addressed, but a plan of action for studies he requested about two weeks ago haven’t been done, he said.</p>
<p>Now, Barnett, Indiana’s two U.S. senators, a congressman and two Indiana lawmakers are asking for action.</p>
<p>In a letter sent to the Indiana State Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, officials are asking for a written plan for an investigation looking for possible toxins in the community and how they will be addressed. They want to receive a response with a course of action by Aug. 17.</p>
<p>"I want people to know I am not sitting idly by," Barnett said.</p>
<p>Barnett isn’t saying Franklin does or does not have a problem, he said.</p>
<p>What he is saying is that the public is concerned, and they deserve to have those concerns addressed, he said. Recently, members of a road construction crew threatened to walk off the job because of public concerns over the air in Franklin, and he worked with state officials to calm the workers and get them to return to the job the next day, he said.</p>
<p>The issue needs to be studied, including looking for any possible toxins and determining whether they have any link to local cancer cases, by the government organizations who are the experts in these areas, he said.</p>
<p>And if something is found, a plan is needed to address it, Barnett said.</p>
<p>"We need to let the process work," he said.</p>
<p>In recent weeks, Barnett has called upon U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Joe Donnelly for help, along with U.S. Rep. Trey Hollingsworth, and state lawmakers and leaders of state offices, he said.</p>
<p>He has met with the owner of the former manufacturing facility where residents are concerned about possible contamination, and is working with him on a plan to get a carbon treatment filter installed on the vent stack to prevent any chemicals from entering the air, he said.</p>
<p>And he has continued to talk with residents who are concerned and members of the parent group, If It Was Your Child, he said.</p>
<p>The city is working with the state on a public meeting planned for Friday where he hopes that residents’ concerns can be addressed by state experts, he said.</p>
