Mercury added to list of contaminants at Teaneck park

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2011

BY DENISA R. SUPERVILLE STAFF WRITER

THE RECORD
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LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY DECEMBER 15, 2011, 10:41 PM

Teaneck officials on Thursday added mercury to a list of contaminants whose discovery in the soil at Votee Park prompted them to close the area to visitors.

TARIQ ZEHAWI / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

From left, Maurice Mason, and Lester Autry of Teaneck DPW place signs informing the public that Votee Park is closed.

Votee Park was closed Wednesday after soil tests on the soccer fields showed levels of benzo(a)pyrene and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, that exceeded safety standards set by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The township said Thursday that two of the eight soil samples taken from the fields contained levels of mercury that exceeded state guidelines for its potential to contaminate groundwater. However, the mercury found at the park did not exceed state soil cleanup standards for non-residential sites, according to correspondence to the township from GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies Inc., the Fairfield-based firm that conducted the soil tests earlier this year.

The levels of 0.12 parts per million and 0.15 parts per million were above the states impactto-groundwater screening level of 0.1 parts per million, according to the report. Additional testing is needed to determine whether the mercury found in the soil poses a threat to human health and the environment, the correspondence said. Township parks workers began hanging signs at the parks entrances Thursday that read, Park closed, no admittance. We are posting signs in the park that the parks are closed, Township Manager William Broughton said Thursday. Police will also conduct additional patrols to advise park users to remain on the exterior perimeter track. At 40 acres, Votee Park, is the largest developed park in Teaneck, said Glenna D. Crockett, the townships recreation superintendent, Its amenities include baseball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, a hockey rink, an in-ground swimming pool and 1.2 miles of bike paths, she said. The Recreation Departments youth baseball and soccer leagues, which use the park, each attract more than 1,000 participants annually, she said. TheTeaneck Public Schools also use the parks soccer fields and baseball diamonds, Superintendent Barbara Pinsak said Thursday. Despite the yellow police tape around the soccer field, many residents came to the park Thursday morning, unaware that that it had been closed to the public or that contaminated soil had been found there. I saw the tape, but I had no idea, said Gerard Gillian, who walked through the park near the soccer field twice on Thursday morning before the signs were posted. Others said they were concerned about the children who use the field We really love this park, said Katrina Frame ofHackensack, who was walking around the park on Thursday with her friend Helene Weinberg, a Teaneckresident. I hope they really get to the root of the problem. Frame said she saw children playing on the soccer field as recently as a month ago. I hope its not something thats going to affect them, she said. How did this even happen? According to GZA GeoEnvironmental, the DEPs Green Acres Program required soil tests before the town could receive funding for improving the soccer fields. The town plans to resurface them with artificial turf.

On July 15, Green Acres officials asked the firm to conduct a site investigation of the historic fill at the site, according to the correspondence. One soil sample collected nearly 7 feet below the surface contained PCBs above the DEPs remediation standards for residential direct contact. Another sample collected nearly 6 feet below ground contained benzo(a)pyrene above the residential direct contact soil remediation standards. On Thursday, a GZA representative said that elevated levels of aluminum and manganese that also were found in the soil were considered nuisance metals and are not considered a health threat. It is not clear how the contaminants ended up in the soil. Larry Robertson, the township historian, said there was a dairy farm in the 1800s at the present site of the park. One of the farmers tanned leather at the site and slaughtered cattle and made soap from the cattle fat, he said. There were no real environmental laws until recently, he said. And people who owned land routinely dumped things on it. Joseph Hochreiter, a Pennsylvania-based environmental consultant who has worked in New Jersey since the 1970s, said Thursday that the results of the tests should not elicit great alarm. Hochreiter said the level of 0.36 parts per million of benzo(a)pyrene found in one of the samples taken was only slightly higher than the state standard of 0.2 parts per million. The sample was taken between 6 and 7 feet below the surface. The PCBs level was 1.7 parts per million above the state standard of 0.2 parts per million on one of two samples analyzed, he said. Its still a relatively low number, he said. The important thing to note is that even though its above the residential and non-residential standards its 5 to six feet down. No one is coming into contact with it. Depending on the extent of the contamination, the municipality can clean the soil by removing the chemicals, by entombing it in place, or digging it up and move it elsewhere, Hochreiter said. With the data that I have seen, I would not be inclined to think you need to dig this up, he said. I am thinking right now, from looking at the data I have seen, if thats the sum total of

what weve got I would say that capping that in place would be perfectly acceptable and protective of human health and the environment. E-mail: superville@northjersey.com

Votee Park contaminants

Benzo(a)pyrene

What is it? A pal e yellow solid o r powder used a s a laboratory reagent. It also forms a s a byproduct, suc h a s coal tar, when carbon substance s burn , an d is found in cigarett e smoke. What are the risks ? It can affect human health when inhale d an d b y passin g through the skin . It is a probab le human carc inogen . It can irritat e an d bur n the eyes , caus e skin rashes o r burn in g feelin g on contact , an d may damage the develop in g fetus. Stat e cleanup threshold : 0.66 parts pe r millio n for both residentia l an d non -resident ia l properties.

Mercur y

What is it? A silver y liqui d meta l that is used for gol d recover y an d in dental amalgams, thermometers, barometer s an d in dry-cell batter ies. What are the risks ? Mercur y can pose hea lth risks to humans when inha le d o r absorbed through the skin . It can irritate the skin , eyes , throat , nose an d lungs, an d caus e nausea an d abdominal pain . Repeate d exposur e can affect per iphera l visio n an d caus e mercur y po isoning , whos e symptoms includ e tremors, personality changes , memor y prob lems an d gu m prob lems . It can damage the kidneys . Stat e cleanup threshold : 1 4 parts pe r millio n for residentia l propertie s an d 27 0 parts pe r millio n for non - residentia l properties .

PCB s

What are they: Polychlorinated biphenyls ar e man -made chem icals manufacture d from 192 9 to 197 9 for use a s coolants an d lubr icant s in transformers, capac itors an d other e lectr ical equ ipment . Becaus e they do no t read ily brea k down, PCBs can b io -accumulate in the food chain an d caus e harmfu l hea lth effects. What are the risks ? They ar e probab le human carcinogens. They have bee n associate d with acne -like skin condition s in adu lts an d neurobehaviora l an d immuno log ical changes in children . Stat e cleanup threshold : 0.2 parts pe r millio n for residentia l propertie s an d 1 par t pe r millio n for no n - residentia l properties . Becaus e o f the health danger , cleanup o f site s contaminate d with PCBs can fall unde r federal oversigh t b y the Environmental Protection Agency . Sources : New Jerse y Department o f Environmenta l Protection , New Jerse y Department o f Health and Senio r Services, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency , Agency for Toxi c Substances an d Disease Registry.