Presence of Arsenic in Dirt Prompts Closure of Byram Ball Field

The baseball field adjacent to New Lebanon School was closed on Friday after soil tests indicated there is arsenic in the field’s soil.

The announcement of the field closure came from Greenwich Public Schools that has hired a consultant to conduct the soil tests as the Board of Education considers sites to build a new New Lebanon School. The field is located on William Street West, behind the school and the Byram Shubert Library.

Preliminary tests of the Mead Avenue school campus and surrounding town-owned property indicated the presence of arsenic.

Two of the three samples contained arsenic at levels above the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria established by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP). As a result of those results, the Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) commissioned a Supplemental Limited Phase II to further investigate the baseball field adjacent to New Lebanon School.

According to the school district, a total of 20 soil samples were collected in a grid-like pattern across the field. The soil samples were collected at a depth of 0 to one foot below the ground surface. Five of the 20 samples collected, contained arsenic at levels above the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria.

Previous soil tests on the school property showed the presence of pesticides.

While the school board works with the Greenwich Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of Public Works and the Greenwich Health Department to evaluate the issues at the site, the decision was made to fence off the area on Friday.

In a statement, the district said, “During the next month, we will be performing additional analysis of the soils present at the Site in order to better define the areas that exceed the Residential Direct Exposure Criteria and identify the steps necessary to fully open the field to the public. We will have results by June 1, 2015 and will be able to discuss the next steps at that time.”

The Greenwich Board of Education is evaluating potential locations and plans to either expand or rebuild New Lebanon School which continues to be overcrowded and is under a state mandate to find ways to create more diversity in the school that remains racially imbalanced. The plan must also address the achievement gap in students’ performance.

Photo credit: Google maps.