Pesticides, Arsenic Found in Soil Around New Lebanon School

As the Greenwich Board of Education continues to consider its options for either rebuilding or expanding the New Lebanon School, the school district announced late Friday that there is soil contamination that could limit school expansion options.

The determination was made on the heels of soil test results on the property surrounding the Mead Avenue school campus that included analysis of samples taken from the town-owned baseball fields that abut the school campus and the Byram Shubert Library.

A total of eight soil samples were collected from the three potential construction areas. Three samples were collected from around the perimeter of New Lebanon.

Samples also were taken from the ravine to the east of New Lebanon School (Scheme C), the baseball field to the east of the Byram Shubert Library (Scheme B) and the New Lebanon School (Scheme A). After much deliberation and collection of input from the community, the baseball field and perimeter of the New Lebanon School were removed from consideration as potential areas of construction.

Two soil samples were collected from the ravine area. One sample showed no evidence of contaminants exceeding regulatory criteria while the other showed trace amounts of pesticides on the threshold of the Pollutant Mobility Criteria which are applied to areas above ground water sources. According to the report, the pesticides do not exceed the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria and doesn’t require any action at this point, according to the report.

The tests were done as the Board of Education considers options on how to expand classroom space at the Mead Avenue school so that it can eliminate overcrowded conditions, achieve racial balance and close the achievement gap by creating a magnet school program. To cope with the overcrowding, the school has relocated its pre-school and kindergarten classes off-campus.

Here is what the school district said in its announcement:

Three samples were collected from the baseball field. Two of the three samples contain arsenic at concentrations above the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria. The samples were collected at a depth of one to two feet below ground surface.

While the results are above the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria, they are not at a level that requires immediate regulatory notification or immediate action. It is important to note that the grass cover on the field is in good condition and that this minimizes the potential to come in direct contact with the soil.

The Department of Parks and Recreation will continue to inspect and maintain the grass cover on the field as additional evaluation of the soil quality is conducted. The exposed earth on the basepaths and around home plate is typically imported for this use and is not expected to share the same characteristics as the soil beneath the grass areas.

We are working with our consultant to evaluate the surficial soil to determine if further action is needed. This phase will commence as weather and snow melt allow. We are also working with the Town Department of Public Health and the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

We encourage community members to contact these agencies with any health related questions. Our focus, as always, is on the safety of our community and we will continue to share environmental information as it becomes available.”

The report released on Friday follows a report earlier this month that found two underground oil storage tanks — one of which is an actively used tank. Tests showed neither tank has leaked contaminants, according to the report.

To view the Phase II Environmental Assessment at the Havemeyer Building, 290 Greenwich Ave., contact: Kim Eves at Kim_Eves@greenwich.k12.ct.us for an appointment.

For health and safety-related questions contact:

Greenwich Health Department: Michael Long, Director of Environmental Service mlong@greenwichct.org or 203-987-1001

Connecticut Department of Health: 860-509-8000 or visit: http://www.ct.gov/dph/cwp/view.asp?a=3115&q=387254&dphNav_GID=1601

ATSDR Fact Sheet on Arsenic: http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tfacts2.pdf

To sign up for Greenwich Patch news alerts and more, click here.

Other Patch stories:

• Help Wanted: Part-Time Jobs Available in the Greenwich Area
• Trader Joe’s Recalls Cinnamon Almonds Because of Undeclared Peanuts
• What’s Coming to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Redbox in Greenwich