Town Forced to Close Mary Dennison Playground

UPDATED with the Town of Framingham’s press release below

***

The Mary Dennison Playground has been closed to a test that showed high contaminates of lead, according to the a spokesperson at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

The Town of Framingham has been testing the soil at the playground and park.

The last samples were taken in August and yesterday, levels at the “tot playground area” came back with “imminent levels of lead,” said MassDEP spokesperson Ed Coletta.

He said that means that all access to the site needs to be prohibited.

He said the Town has put up fencing around the area, deconstructed the playground equipment so it can not be used and put up signs in three languages - English, Spanish and Portuguese.

He said a community meaning is in the works for next week.

Framingham Assistant Town Manager said it is the “children’s playground on the eastern side of Mary Dennison Park that is temporarily closed.”

The Town of of Framingham plans to issue a press release on the closure later today.

In May, the Town of Framingham held a neighborhood meeting to discuss he safety of the playground.

Between 1955 and 1964, the Town of Framingham acquired the 17.4 acres from Dennison Manufacturing, now Avery Dennison. The recreation and athletic complex was built in 1960 on top of land the manufacturer used as a dump. dump by the manufacturer. Topsoil was put over the buried waste and trash to build the park.

Earlier this year, the Town notified the state and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) it discovered toxins in the soil of the playground, located off Beaver Street.

In March, the Town hired an environmental consultant to drill in 15 locations to get soil samples between 6 inches and 6 feet in the 17-acre park and uncovered high levels of lead and other metals.

The soil samples from the top 12 inches, except for one, had low levels of contaminates. Several of the deeper soil samples had higher levels of metals, lead and arsenic, but people using the park would not come into contact with them, said the consultant.

In May residents questioned why more soil samples, beyond the 15 taken, have not been completed.

***

Press release from the Town of Framingham:

On Wednesday, September 10, 2014 the Town of Framingham received the results of an extensive second round of shallow soil testing (0-1 foot depth) from the Mary Dennison Park. The samples taken across the park (excluding the enclosed eastern playground area) resulted in average concentrations of lead consistent with the findings from last spring and indicate the surface soils at the main park are within MassDEP acceptable levels. The most recent tests, however, in one specific area, the fenced-in play area (the eastern playground), had higher concentrations of lead than previously detected in the spring. The Town’s consultant in conjunction with the Health Department determined that these lead concentrations required that the Town notify MassDEP; this notice was filed as required Wednesday September 10, 2014.

After consultation with MassDEP and as a temporary measure, the Framingham Health Department and Parks and Recreation Department have temporarily closed the affected playground area by enclosing the area with a security fence, and by posting signs indicating that the play area is temporarily closed in multiple languages. The remainder of the Mary Dennison Park is open for use and is not impacted by this temporary closure. The Town will continue to work with MassDEP to address the conditions in this area as well as the rest of the park.

“In addition to the 12 initial soil samples that were obtained, we now have over 80 soil samples and therefore much more information. We look forward to correcting this small area of lead contaminated soil and are moving quickly towards solutions for all areas within Mary Dennison Park. The environmental safety and health of this neighborhood is of the utmost importance to the Town.” Said Bob Halpin, Town Manager

According to Michael Hugo, the Chair of the Board of Health, “While this temporary closure is unfortunate, it is consistent with the Board’s promise to the community at last spring’s meeting, that should there be any potentially dangerous conditions, the Town will act swiftly and decisively.” Mr. Hugo added that, “I am extremely proud of our Park and Recreation crew, and the staff of the Board of Health for initiating the temporary closure of the playground in less than one hour, following the notification of the situation. We are continuing to monitor the situation extremely closely and are working very closely with the Department of Environmental Protection, to remedy this issue.”

***

Photo credit: Framingham Parks & Recreation