Greenwich HS Athletic Fields Reopened

The results of soil samples from Greenwich High School athletic fields indicate there are contaminants but at levels that officials say are low enough to prompt school and environmental officials to deem the fields safe enough for activities.

School officials announced Tuesday that fields 2, 3, 4, and 5 - which ring the rear perimeter of the school—have been reopened, a decision which will allow the spring season of sport to proceed. However, while athletes dig their cleats into the baseball and softball diamonds and soccer or lacrosse fields, school and environmental officials say it won't be until fall when they will have a plan on how to remediate the pollution that has put at least a temporary stop to the $28 million Music Instruction Space and Auditorium (MISA) project.

Work on the project was halted after two weeks in July 2011, after workers discovered that soil being excavated from the rear of the school was contaminated, prompting the shutdown of all athletic fields. State and federal regulators ordered the removal of the soil and further testing throughout the Hillside Road campus.

According to documents released by the school district Tuesday, "180 soil samples were collected from 49 borings" at varying depths up to 20 feet. And "Surface water and sediment samples were collected from the pond located just south of the High School and West Brothers Brook (adjacent to the fields). A total of 32 sediment and 6 surface water samples were collected.
Groundwater samples were collected from four monitoring wells installed at the site."

The tests indicated that among the chemicals discovered in the samples are  PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (called PAHs), metals including lead and arsenic, and the pesticide chlordane.

According to the report, "Large portions of the study area appear to be mostly free of chemicals, including fields 5, 6, and 7, and the area immediately surrounding the High School buildings, although PCBs, PAHs, and metals (lead and arsenic) were found in other areas. PCBs were found in an area of particular concern from deep soil samples collected within the strip of land between the High School’s western parking lot and Fields 3 and 4.

"These samples were collected from 2 to 18 feet below the ground surface. A review of historical drawings that show what the area looked like before the High School was constructed indicate that this area used to be a pond or perhaps a deep area of the brook. It appears this area was filled in for school construction. This may help explain where some of the PCBs come from. While these levels are not posing any immediate health risk to site users at this time (because people are not exposed to the soil this deep), the levels are of concern for potential impacts to groundwater."

Samples taken from three of the four water monitoring wells installed, also show contamination.

One well, which is located where some of the highest PCB levels were found in soil (a spot between Field 3 and the west parking lot) had a PCB concentration on the order of 50 ppb, according to the report. And samples taken from the sediment in the brook contained metals, PAHs, and pesticides. One sediment sample location in the pond contained a low level of PCBs, according to the report.

Officials also said, "The sampling activities completed so far have helped us understand the site better, but we still need to sample under fields 3, 4, 6, and 7 to have a more complete understanding of overall site conditions. We cannot do additional sampling under the fields until June, when sports activities are completed and we can have free access to these fields. Because the fields are artificial turf, we could not sample them in the winter months given the need for warm temperatures to repair the turf carpet, nor did we want to interrupt spring sports."

During last week's budget decision day, the Board of EStimate and Taxtion Budget Committee approved a $7 million allocation to pay for any remediation work to be done on the school site.

Previously, AECOM, the private environmental consulting firm hired by the town and board of education to study the site, has said, “Based on the results of this investigation, to address PCB-containing materials in accordance with the governing federal regulations."

In the March 6 report, just how the cleanup will proceed will be based upon several measures, including an analysis of samples taken during the February winter break, and samples scheduled to be taken in April and during the summer.

Officials also said in the report, "Beginning a study (called a feasibility study) to identify and evaluate remedial (cleanup) alternatives for the site. This study will include estimates of the overall cost for the cleanup, which we hope will be wrapped up by late fall 2012."