Gallows Hill Park playground, soccer field closed
During testing being conducted in preparation for planned improvements at Salem’s Gallows Hill park, soil samples taken on a portion the soccer field area showed elevated arsenic levels. The samples were collected at shallow depths beneath the grass cover. The levels detected in the shallow soils and the use of the site as a park triggered immediate notification requirements to Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).
In compliance with MassDEP requirements, the soccer field and adjacent playground area and basketball court have been closed until further notice. The City is working with the Department of Environmental Protection and a consultant from an environmental engineering firm to conduct further testing to ascertain the extent of the contamination and create a plan to mitigate the hazard. To date, the elevated arsenic levels were only detected in soils beneath a portion of the soccer field soil and not in the playground area; however, out of an abundance of caution the playground area has been temporarily closed, as well. Additional testing is planned for both areas. To date, no elevated levels of arsenic or other contaminants have been detected in the baseball field or skate park areas, which were also assessed during subsurface investigations completed.
The level of contamination is not anticipated to delay the planned improvements intended for the park, which are tentatively expected to advance in 2019-2020. Updated information will be provided by the City as it becomes available. An FAQ with additional specific information is provided below.
###
Frequently Asked Questions: Gallows Hill Park and arsenic
What is arsenic?
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is widely distributed in the Earth’s crust and can be found in water, air, food, and soil. You can read more about arsenic at this website from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/arsenic/index.cfm. While arsenic is naturally occurring, the concentrations found in the soccer field exceed what is considered normally naturally occurring levels of the element.
Where did the arsenic come from?
While the City and its consultants cannot say for certain where this particular arsenic came from, it is not uncommon for arsenic to be a byproduct of combustion and other industrial processes that characterized Salem’s economy for many decades in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Arsenicals were also historically used as pesticides and are common in urban soils in many places as a result of that use. Based on the findings to date, it is believed the arsenic in site soils may be from earlier filling of this area pre-park development. However, further due diligence and subsurface investigations are warranted to further determine the cause of this finding.
How much arsenic is there?
The total quantity of arsenic in the soil underneath the Gallows Hill soccer field is not known. The City’s environmental consultants initially took seven boring samples from across the entire park, with only one boring, from the soccer field, indicating the presence of arsenic at the reportable level. Subsequently 10 additional borings were taken in the soccer field and playground areas. Three of those 10 secondary borings also exceeded the reportable levels of arsenic.
What levels or types of arsenic are considered unsafe for human contact?
Findings above 20 parts per million (ppm) in soil require that MassDEP is notified, while findings above 40 ppm triggered a condition that requires that the site be closed immediately. Three of the 10 secondary samples at the soccer field exceeded that 40 ppm threshold.
My child played or plays at the Gallows Hill Park soccer field, how concerned should I be?
Because the arsenic was located below the grass surface level, conventional use of the field would not normally bring an individual into direct contact with the soils with the elevated levels of arsenic. Complete details about the potential dangers of arsenic, including symptoms, testing, and treatment are available from the CDC’s Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/tf.asp?id=19&tid=3. At this time, the City cannot say what sort of health risks, if any, past use of the field might pose.
What happens next?
As required by MassDEP, temporary fencing will be set up around the soccer field, playground, and basketball court immediately. Public entry into these parts of the park is prohibited until further notice. The City’s environmental engineers will conduct additional investigations at the site, including excavation of test pits, likely in January or February of 2019. These test pits will be more invasive than the borings that have been done to date. During this work the contractor will implement substantial dust and soil control protocols to protect abutting residents.
How will this impact the improvements proposed for Gallows Hill Park?
How contaminated soil is managed on or off-site in the future is highly regulated by both federal and state law. Once further testing shows precisely which parts of the field have elevated contaminant levels in the soil, those areas will be subject to remedial actions that could involve off-site disposal and/or placing of a capping system on the area to restrict access. While this is not anticipated to significantly impact the timetable of the park improvements project, it will likely increase the final cost. Until it is more clear how much of the field is contaminated we will not know the precise amount of additional cost this mitigation will entail. Because the improvements for the Gallows Hill Park have started final design, the City will be able to coordinate the mitigation work with the improvements project.
Were any other hazardous substances identified in the samples?
To date, only arsenic has been detected at elevated levels in site soils. However, further investigations are warranted to determine if other contaminants are also present in the impacted area, as well as to further determine the extent of those impacts should they exist.
Will the soccer field, playground, and basketball court be open this spring?
While the City does not know for certain at this time if they will be open this spring, it is most likely that they will not be. Following the additional investigations and analysis, it is possible that a remediation project may need to take place to remove or mitigate the contaminated soils. That work would need to take place before these areas of the park would be able to be opened to the public.