As Baltimore City convened a task force to investigate arsenic poisoning at Swann Park, the polluter worked to keep the extent of the contamination from ever going public, a new report reveals.
Allied Chemical operated a pesticide plant near the park in the 1960s and 1970s and merged with Honeywell Inc. in 1999. Honeywell could not be reached immediately for comment.
Working from boxes of documents provided by Honeywell in May, a new task force commissioned by the city found that Allied marked results of its arsenic testing “Privileged and Confidential” and concealed the amount of arsenic from a city task force in 1976.
“The task force didn?t feel the amount of arsenic in the soil was likely to be a risk to health,” city Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said.
But the report released Tuesday shows that task force did not know the extent of the poisoned soil.
The documents, available on the Baltimore City Health Department Web site, indicate Allied buried results of arsenic testing as high as 10,000 parts per million in the soil, found near the plant?s fence.
Company officials sat on the task force and knew what information other members had.
State and Environmental Protection Agency test results that were available to the committee revealed only 1,340 parts per million.
The federal standard for drinking water is 0.010 parts per million.
The task force also made allowances for arsenic-containing herbicides that were likely laid on the ball fields, according to the report.
Sharfstein said despite elevated numbers, exposure to arsenic in the soil is probably not enough to make anyone sick.
“The real risk would have been airborne arsenic that would have been a problem when the plant was in operation,” he said.
Arsenic has been linked to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver and prostate, according to the EPA.
Swann Park was closed in May pending the findings of the city task force. Its next report will focus on laws governing reporting and cleanup and changes needed to ensure public health risks aren?t concealed.
Meanwhile, city and EPA officials are continuing to test soil and runoff in the surrounding neighborhoods in South Baltimore, Sharfstein said.
“All the locations right nearby are being checked,” he said.
How can today’s task force be more thorough than the one from 1976? Respond below in our comment section.
