Playscapes Cleared To Reopen At 6 Fairfield Schools

FAIRFIELD, CT — Playscapes at six schools are reopening Friday after the school district received test results that showed no contamination at any of the sites, according to Fairfield officials.

"We are happy to report that they will be opened today," Superintendent Mike Cummings said in an email to parents.

The playscapes that are reopening are at Mill Hill, North Stratfield, Osborn Hill, Riverfield, Sherman and Burr elementary schools, according to the email.

The closure and testing of all district playscapes and fields was ordered last month, following the town's release of a list of 20 high-priority locations for contamination testing. The list was announced 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.

Playscapes at Dwight, Jennings, McKinley and Stratfield elementary schools remain closed, pending test results.

"We will update you on the remaining playscape test results as soon as possible," Cummings said in the email.

Fields at seven Fairfield schools that were tested by the district were declared safe earlier this week, but initial testing of those sites revealed pesticides that were used about 40 years ago. Although the tests initially indicated the presence of pesticides, further analysis of the samples showed the results were not above the pollutant mobility criteria and warrant no further action, according to Fairfield Health Department Director Sands Cleary. The levels of pesticides found present no risk to the environment or human safety, he said.

Officials also announced Tuesday that the town had identified additional school locations where material from the public works yard was used, including paved areas where the 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.

All the locations on the town priority list received material from the public works yard between 2013 and 2016, when Julian Development was operating the facility. Ten 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 priority list included nine school properties, three of which tested positive for contamination. The contaminated properties include an area on the far periphery of the Riverfield playground and an area along the Mill Hill playground walkway.

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.