Fields At 7 Fairfield Schools Can Reopen, But Pesticides Found

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fields at seven Fairfield schools are safe for use and will reopen, officials announced at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting, after the fields were tested for contamination in response to an investigation of illegal dumping at the town public works yard.

"I'm very pleased with what I'm seeing and, quite honestly, relieved," Vice Chair Nick Aysseh said. "... All of our school fields are going to be opened and I just want to say to the public I, for one, appreciate your patience."

The fields that are cleared to reopen include those at North Stratfield, Stratfield, Roger Sherman and Osborn Hill elementary schools, Roger Ludlowe Middle School, and Fairfield Warde and Fairfield Ludlowe high schools. While the fields are safe for play, initial testing of all the sites revealed the presence of pesticides. Superintendent Mike Cummings told board members the pesticides found on the fields were in use about 40 years ago.

"The legacy of this is the sins of our fathers to some degree," he said.

While the pesticides did not exceed the state's residential direct exposure criteria, in several locations amounts were greater than the state pollutant mobility criteria, which is used to evaluate a chemical's potential to infiltrate groundwater, according to a letter from Margaret Harvey, an epidemiologist with the state's Department of Public Health.

The exceedance would present an issue if there were wells in the area, Cummings said, but because there are none near the field sites, the pesticides are less of a concern. Additional groundwater testing will be conducted but the results won't affect field use, he said.

The school district has used organic fertilizers and pesticides on all of its elementary and middle school fields since 2000 in compliance with state law, Cummings said in an email Tuesday to parents.

First Selectman Mike Tetreau emphasized that Tuesday's results show the fields are safe.

"All the test results confirm that our fields are safe for recreational purposes," said Tetreau, who was not in attendance at the school board meeting, but discussed the results beforehand. "... We are now at the point that Fairfield fields, our ballfields, our parks, are the most tested of any town in the state."

The closure and testing of all district fields and playscapes was ordered following the town's release of a list of 20 high-priority locations for contamination testing. The list was announced in August, days after asbestos was reported at a local park and two town officials and a former contractor were charged in connection with dumping at the public works yard. The school district's testing of sites not on the town priority list began the last week of August, and results for the playscape tests are still pending.

All the locations on the priority list received material from the public works yard between 2013 and 2016, when Julian Development was operating the facility. So far, 10 of the priority sites have been confirmed to contain contaminants such as asbestos, arsenic, lead and PCBs. The town is working with a consultant and state officials to remediate the locations. The list included nine school sites, three of which tested positive for contaminants, and two of which have since partially reopened.

Aysseh asked Tuesday why pesticides were never discussed in relation to the 20 priority sites. School district Executive Director of Operations Angelus Papageorge explained that the town tested for specific contaminants and did not look for pesticides, whereas the school district conducted a broader range of tests. Fairfield Health Department Director Sands Cleary confirmed that other fields in town likely contain similar levels of pesticides to those found on the school sites.

Officials also announced Tuesday that the town has identified additional school locations where material from the public works yard was used, including paved areas at Tomlinson Middle School and Osborn Hill Elementary School where any risk is contained, as well as a site near the Osborn Hill baseball field that received material in 2016 and will be cordoned off for further assessment.

"We were just made aware of it today," Cleary said.

During the school board meeting, member Jeff Peterson asked about asbestos at Fairfield Warde, and Cleary confirmed a small piece of non-friable asbestos was found at the school, but it poses no health risk.

"It needs to be addressed and it will be," Cleary said.

Fairfield hired Julian Development in 2013 to run its public works yard and reduce the size of a pile of unused project material by 40,000 cubic yards. But over the next three years, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the agreement was set to end, PCBs and lead were discovered on the property.

After conservation officials said the transportation and dumping of contaminated material could have violated state or federal law, police opened an investigation in 2017.

Former director of public works Joe Michelangelo, former superintendent of public works Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian were arrested last month and are accused of crimes including larceny, forgery and dumping. The majority of the crimes are alleged to have occurred during the years Julian Development was under contract to operate the yard on Richard White Way. Both Michelangelo and Bartlett have been fired from their town jobs since the arrests.

In addition to the criminal case, Fairfield has sued Julian for millions in damages and Julian has sued the town for defamation.

For updates on school district testing, go to fpsct.net/fields. For more information about town test results, visit www.fairfieldct.org/filluseissues.