Low-level chemical contamination is within the first six inches of soil on O’Sullivan’s Island, a public park in Derby that was closed in January over fears of soil contamination.
While additional testing needs to be done, the preliminary results pulled from 22 locations on the property indicate the chemicals are not at concentrations that pose a threat to the public.
That’s according to a Sept. 25 email from Margaret Harvey, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Public Health, to the Valley Council of Governments.
The email was shared with the public during a Derby Board of Aldermen meeting Sept. 25.
Low concentrations of arsenic, lead, petroleum hydrocarbons and PCBs are within the first half-foot of dirt.
But the levels aren’t a threat, even when compared to tougher standards for residential cleanups.
“Using residential standards is extra protective because O’Sullivan’s Island is recreational, not residential,” Harvey stated in the email.
“Average concentration of contaminants in surface soil (0 – 6 inches) are lower than health-based screening values. This means that exposure to surface soil at the O’Sullivan’s Island site is not expected to harm people’s health,” according to Harvey.
Despite the good news, Rick Dunne, the executive director of the Valley Council of Governments, said O’Sullivan’s Island should remain closed.
Dunne said a formal report on the preliminary soil testing should be completed within 30 days. Then there will be another round of soil sampling.
A final report should be ready by January or February.
“The island needs to remain closed,” Dunne told the Aldermen. “I don’t want to lead any of you to the impression that the island should be opened for public use, but we do have some good news.”
O’Sullivan’s Island is a grassy meadow that juts out into the confluence of the Naugatuck and Housatonic rivers.
Parts of it were used as an illegal toxic waste dump, and later a training school for firefighters.
Contractors for the federal Environmental Protection Agency were brought to O’Sullivan’s Island in 2008 – 2009 to remove PCB-contaminated soil and drums.
Click here for answers to frequently asked questions about the property.
Click here for a history of O’Sullivan’s Island from the Valley Council of Governments website.
After Mayor Anita Dugatto took office, Dunne went public with concerns he had over the extent of the cleanup at the city-owned property.
Dunne said the EPA never listed non-PCB soil contamination at O’Sullivan’s Island, and previous tests going back years had documented the presence of other stuff in the ground.
City Aldermen opted to close the site to the public in January until it is determined what’s in the ground, how much is there and whether the site needs further cleanup. The city is looking to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to eventually “certify” the site.
“They (DEEP) are the regulators of the site. They are going to say when it is clean,” Dunne said.
The fact PCBs are still present within the first six inches of the ground is surprising, because a two-foot barrier of “clean” fill was supposedly placed on O’Sullivan’s Island to act as a protective layer against any contamination still in the ground.
“We do have PCBs in what is supposed to be the cover layer of clean soil,” Dunne said.
Fishermen still use the property, despite large signs saying it is dangerous. The city has also been cutting the grass on the property.
The Aldermen Sept. 25 requested that employees from the Derby Department of Public Works be required to wear dusk masks when cutting the grass on O’Sullivan’s Island. The masks are a protection against the accidental inhalation of soil particles while they are cutting the grass.
Harvey, the department of health epidemiologist, also said that deeper soil samples — from up to 1 foot deep — had higher concentrations of contaminants.
“Arsenic, lead, petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs, PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), volatile organic chemicals and dioxin were detected in soils at depth,” Harvey said in the email.
However, those chemicals are not thought to pose a threat because they are deeper in the ground.
“Further discussions will need to occur with DEEP (and possibly EPA as well) regarding additional characterization of soils at the site,” Harvey’s email reads.
Dunne said Harvey’s email are notes, essentially. She will be submitting a “written health consultation” to be reviewed and approved by the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
“It’s preliminary. We will know more when the preliminary results are recorded, areas of concerns are developed and then we go back and do the sampling. We need to keep the island closed until the sampling is done,” Dunne said.
Finally, the city is trying to negotiate a settlement with the EPA over the PCB cleanup at the property. The EPA was originally asking $4 million. The city is hoping to settle for $675,000.
However, as of Sept. 29, a spokesman for the EPA said his agency had yet to approve a settlement on the claim.
“Protecting public health and the environment is the highest priority for EPA. At this time, the agency cannot share information about pending settlement negotiations,” Dave Deegan, the EPA spokesman, said in an email. “Any settlement of this matter will be shared with the public and subject to a thirty day public comment period prior to review by the federal court.”
Harvey’s email is posted below.
