WCOM NEWS

7-01-04

Soil tests show elevated arsenic levels at Miramar community

MIRAMAR--Some soil in the Country Club Ranches community is tainted with arsenic, Broward County investigators confirmed on Wednesday.

What's not clear is why.

"It's a little bit high, but at the levels we are talking about, it is presumed to be safe," said Richard Wilkins, director of the county's pollution prevention division.

While state arsenic guidelines call for no more than 0.8 parts per million, the amount found was between 2.3 and 2.8 parts per million, Wilkins said. However, based on new studies, standards may be revised to 3.2 parts per million, he said.

"Residents at this time don't need to do anything differently then they have been," said Christopher Teaf, a toxicologist with the Center for Biomedical and Toxicological Research in Tallahassee.

The city last week tested soil samples after hearing neighbors' concerns about fill that some residents were getting for free. Fill, which is dirt mixed with construction debris, is used to raise the elevation of land for flood protection.

After those tests revealed arsenic, the county's Department of Planning and Environmental Protection on Friday took six more samples from the 290-home community south of Miramar Parkway and west of Flamingo Road.

The county's tests found slightly more arsenic than the city tests. But Wilkins said both samples might be misleading because each contained fill and existing soil. The arsenic could be coming from either source.

"The county plans on conducting more tests in the community next week to determine if there is arsenic in areas that did not receive the fill," he said.

Teaf, who was hired by Sun Recycling, a company that delivers the free fill, said, "We believe that those concentration levels of arsenic have been there all along."

City Manager Bob Payton said he is not taking chances. Until tests can prove the fill is not contaminated, police will continue to stop trucks delivering the material, he said.

He asked residents to wait to fill their property until further notice.

"We are extremely interested and concerned about the final results," Payton said. "Because today's findings are still preliminary, a more detailed analysis must be done."

Philip Medico, spokesman for Sun Recycling, said he is certain the contaminated material is not coming from his company because its fill is tested weekly.

"What's really important is that the data submitted to us today shows that there is no ongoing threat to health based on these levels," Medico said.

The county is expecting test results Friday that will verify whether there are traces of petroleum hydrocarbon in the soil.

(source) Sun Sentinel (Lori Sykes) 7-01-04