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Department of Ecology News Release - October 11, 2004
04-190
YAKIMA - Student exposure to lead and arsenic at two Brewster schools has been reduced, thanks to the cooperative effort of the Brewster School District and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).
Work concluded last week at Brewster Elementary School, where clean topsoil, turf and a parking lot now caps soil that contained elevated levels of lead and arsenic.
Improvements also were made at Brewster High School soccer field, where the ground was re-contoured and new sod and a sprinkler system installed on old orchard land that exceeded state exposure standards for lead and arsenic.
Historically, lead arsenate was used as a pesticide to control coddling moths in orchards throughout the state. Exposure to lead can cause learning disabilities in children, and long-term exposure to arsenic can cause cancer.
"The school district has worked hard to make sure children have safe school grounds to play on," said Norm Hepner, site manager for Ecology. "They've put a lot of energy in seeing that this project was completed as quickly as possible."
In all, about 6 acres of land have been cleaned up or capped. Ecology conducted the Brewster Elementary School project using nearly $140,000 from the state's toxic cleanup fund. Brewster School District is eligible for a 75 percent reimbursement grant for cleaning up the 3.5-acre high school soccer field through the state's voluntary cleanup grant process.
"This is one of the best projects we have been involved with," said Jim Kelly, Brewster School District superintendent. "Most of our school site was previously orchard and unusable due to soil contamination. With assistance from Ecology, we now have enlarged our elementary playground, prepared an area for school/community use and installed a soccer field. Our students and local taxpayers benefited greatly."
Kelly said he especially appreciated the funding options provided for the project. "The Ecology staff we worked with are extremely efficient and a tremendous asset to the project," he said.
An initial assessment of the school sites was conducted by Okanogan County Health Department, using state funding. Cleanup oversight and standards have been established under the state's Model Toxics Control Act.
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Media contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
