EPA to remove lead-contaminated soil from River Rouge park

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is removing soil contaminated with lead and cadmium from Belanger Park, a waterfront park with a playground, picnic areas and a boat launch in the city of River Rouge.

The agency will replace the contaminated soil with clean soil and replant in the park along the Detroit River. The work started April 1 and will continue through mid-June, the EPA said in a press release.

The city of River Rouge requested environmental officials take soil samples at Belanger Park, the Great Lakes Athletic Field and John Jakubowski Park after identifying elevated lead levels, an EPA spokesperson said.

The Belanger Park soil contained lead levels higher than the EPA's safe direct contact limit. The grassy areas with elevated levels were "closed off by the city with temporary fencing until a cleanup could take place," the EPA said.

Results of soil samples taken within the first six inches of soil from the Great Lakes Athletic Field and John Jakubowski Park were within those federal safety limits, but samples collected deeper in the soil contained higher levels. The city of River Rouge and EGLE are working on "next steps" at those parks, an EPA spokesperson said.

Lead and cadmium both are heavy metals. They are more likely to be found in soil in urban areas, particularly near roadways because cars once used leaded gasoline, near buildings that used lead paint, near industrial sites and waste sites, or where contaminated fill was used to develop land.

Over time, exposure to low levels of cadmium can cause kidney disease, fragile bones and cancer. Exposure to lead can cause a host of health issues, including brain and nervous system damage and slow growth and development in children.

To reduce the risk of exposure to heavy metals, the EPA recommends washing hands and faces after encountering dirt, not allowing children to chew items that may have touched the ground and cleaning dirt from the home.

The source of the contaminants at Belanger Park is unclear, the EPA said, but may have been caused by contaminated fill material used to develop the shoreline during the early 20th century, the spokesperson said. The park is on the Detroit River.

The park is in an industrialized area. It is across the Rouge River from Zug Island, between DTE's retired coal-fired River Rouge Power Plant to the north and US Steel Corp.'s Great Lakes Works hot strip mill rolling facility to the south, which has been idle for about four years.

ckthompson@detroitnews.com