EPA to launch private soil cleanup

Aug. 20--SALEM -- Three homes abutting Gallows Hill Park will get new yards from the Environmental Protection Agency this fall after previously discovered arsenic contamination at the park was found crossing over onto residential land.

The EPA will, at its own cost, spend at least the next two months replacing surface soil at 1, 3 and 5 Langdon St., three residential properties that combine for 0.2 acres of space, according to city senior planner Tom Devine.

The "Lower Gallows" portion of Gallows Hill Park closed in December after soil samples taken from the soccer field at the corner of Mansell Parkway and Proctor Street showed elevated arsenic levels in the soil. That part of the park remains closed, and there is no timeline for it to be cleaned up and reopened. Upgrades throughout the rest of the park -- including trail improvements, a new skate park and more -- are moving forward unaffected by the contamination, and are expected to wrap up next June.

In May, the EPA announced that it was extending its search for arsenic to residential property after reports came in about arsenic being discovered at 1 Langdon St. a few months earlier. The EPA has since committed to removing contaminated soil at the three Langdon Street properties and released details for that project earlier this month.

"Every single park project we've done, it feels like it has contamination," said Mayor Kim Driscoll. "Unfortunately, in this case, it also bled into private property. I think it's vital that the EPA is stepping up to help these private property owners."

A fact sheet from the EPA says cleanup efforts will begin "toward the end of August." A trailer will be set up near the site, and soil will be removed and staged nearby before being shipped "to an appropriate landfill," the fact sheet reads. "Contaminated soil being staged will be covered, and access will be restricted to the area where it is being staged."

The EPA typically removes a couple feet of soil for projects like this, according to Devine. It remains unclear if they'll do that for this project or if more soil will need to be removed.

Dust suppression techniques will also be used to ensure comtaminated soil won't blow through the neighborhood and expose residents to further health issues, according to the EPA. The work will take a couple of months "during normal working hours." Once the trailer appears at the site, the EPA will also hold office hours to answer any questions neighbors might have.

Elaine St. Pierre has lived at 3 Langdon St., one of the contaminated properties, for 10 years, including eight with her husband, who died two years ago from cancer. He was diagnosed before they moved to the property.

When asked about the project Monday afternoon, St. Pierre said she wasn't up to speed on what was taking place.

"They take a long time, don't know when they'll be back," St. Pierre said of the EPA. "They just said it was contaminated."

In fact, St. Pierre said she was surprised to an extent.

"He used to grow a garden out here -- beautiful tomatoes, cucumbers," St. Pierre said of her husband. "We ate everything here for eight years, and nothing happened. We're still here."

To that end, "I don't get it," St. Pierre confessed. "Maybe there is a (contaminated) spot out there somewhere. I don't know how much there is here, but we had been eating for eight years."

Evolving site

Records showing the cause of the contamination are sparse. But 19th and 20th century fire insurance maps and aerial photographs point to the presence of a tannery where the soccer field exists today.

A comprehensive review of records by Tighe & Bond, the licensed site professional on the project, document the presence of several tannery-related buildings in 1890 and 1906. An insurance map from 1906 listed part of the site as "formerly Morrill Leather Company -- Morocco Factory" while also describing a smaller part of that as vacant. Records captured by the online blog "Streets of Gallows Hill" further associate the site with Acme Leather Co. and Cooke Bros. Leather Co. based on records from around 1910. By 1950, the buildings are associated with O.F. Goldsmith Leather Co.

But a map drawn in 1965 has the site surrounded by residences, according to Tighe & Bond. Aerial photos throughout the 1960s and '70s depict park features, including a baseball diamond and basketball court. The first photos or maps showing no tannery buildings at all came in 1978.

Today, the Lower Gallows portion of the park remains fenced off. Tarps are scattered throughout the unmaintained soccer field, covering areas where soil was dug up and tested.

"Right now, we're doing due diligence with the licensed site professional and environmental consultants on what the cleanup approach will be, how it will be conducted and what will be the cost," Driscoll said. "While people will see what looks like nothing happening at Mansell, we're collecting information and data that will be used to inform the cleanup plan."

Contact Salem reporter Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or [email protected]. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.

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