EPA investigates public parks contaminated with ‘elevated levels' of lead in NJ neighborhood

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking into a lead contamination issue at three East Trenton public parks. 

In January, the EPA asked the city of Trenton to collect and analyze soil samples from the Sony Vereen Playground, Breunig Avenue Park and the Grant Avenue Playground. 

Results from the samples showed elevated levels of lead in the soil of all three parks. 

To warn park visitors of the ongoing issue, the EPA placed “lead awareness” signs at each park, urging visitors to pay attention to fenced-off areas to avoid lead exposure. 

"If they don’t want kids there, they should put a fence, close it up. You know? Kids—they’re still going to get in there," Trenton resident Carlos Baez told NBC10.

The EPA has four tips to limit exposure when visiting the three parks:

• Avoid digging or disturbing the soil.
• Wash hands thoroughly after visiting the parks, especially before eating.
• Remove shoes before entering homes and buildings to avoid tracking in contaminated soil.
• Supervise children closely and prevent them from putting dirt in their mouths.

The EPA is currently working with the city to come up with a solid plan to protect the community from any kind of health risks associated with this lead contamination. 

"It’s a chronic exposure. So just because you walk through the park once, does not mean you’re going to have a health effect. It’s the frequency and how you’re being exposed," EPA on-scene coordinator Jon Byk said.

As a part of the plan to keep people safe and limit lead exposure, the city says some areas of the parks will be completely closed while other parts of the parks will stay open as the EPA works to cover the contaminated soil and grass. 

According to the World Health Organization, excessive lead exposure can be dangerous to anyone, but especially to children. 

For kids, the WHO says lead exposure can lead to permanent adverse health effects, typically on brain and nervous system development. 

Adults are also at risk of facing some long-term health effects such as an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart problems and kidney damage. 

In addition, on top of potentially getting sick themselves, pregnant women also face the risk of their baby developing serious effects such as brain and nervous system problems. 

While the agency is unsure what exactly caused this instance of excessive lead contamination, back in 2020, the EPA started to investigate the pottery industry for its potential relation to the lead contamination in soil. 

"You would use clay, you’d form it into a shape like a plate, but then they would put a glaze on it for coloration and that glaze had lead in it and that piece of pottery was basically put in a furnace, high temperatures and smoke carried the lead up and out the smoke stack and that was deposited throughout the neighborhood," Byk explained.

Following testing of the pottery industry in 2023 through 2024 the EPA tested several homes, public schools, and then of course, the parks. 

As of now, the EPA has sampled a total of 130 residential properties, many of these had high concentrations of lead found in the soil. 

Over the next several months, the EPA will install protective measures at residential homes impacted by elevated levels of lead to limit exposure.

These will help reduce exposure and harm to individuals in vulnerable populations like children and pregnant women. 

The EPA is going to offer free soil testing for residential homes throughout the spring and summer of 2024 at the East Trenton Study Area.