Bernardston seeks more soil testing after slightly elevated arsenic levels found near school
Published: 09-11-2024 10:41 AM |
BERNARDSTON — The Board of Health will hire a licensed professional to study the soil at Bernardston Elementary School after John Lepore, a certified restoration ecological practitioner with Future Lands Designs LLC, found elevated levels of arsenic in the soil on town-owned land next to the school.
According to Board of Health Chair Barbara Killeen, Lepore, as part of an effort to establish an outdoor learning center for students, collected six soil samples from the wooded lot located south of School Road, adjacent to the school. Lepore then mixed them together and submitted the samples to the state.
In an interview Monday, Lepore said the sample was found to contain 1.2 milligrams per kilogram more arsenic than the state Department of Environmental Protection’s 20 mg/kg guideline for safe arsenic levels in soil.
Given the only slight elevation in arsenic levels, Killeen said, along with the fact that the soil tested was outside school grounds and the toxin’s location is 4 to 6 inches below the ground, made the discovery of the samples a less-than-urgent health concern.
“It’s nothing to get completely worked up about, but it is something that we need to keep an eye on,” Killeen said. “This was property that was not on school grounds. … I believe [Lepore] is taking some more samples … so that we can ascertain whether this is something that we need to actually be concerned about, or whether this is something that is just a blip on the radar.”
An email addressed to Pioneer Valley Regional School District parents and teachers signed by Killeen, Selectboard Chair Ken Bordewieck, school district Superintendent Patricia Kinsella and regional physician Dr. Ruth Potee quoted a state health official’s statement that the arsenic found does not constitute an “imminent hazard.”
“The Western MA Regional Director of the MA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has described the results as ‘slightly over the reportable concentration.’ In the Director’s words, they are ‘nowhere near the level of an imminent hazard,’” local officials wrote in the email.
The email also stated that the town will seek additional soil sampling — on both the school’s property and the town-owned lot — from a site professional licensed by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
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In an interview Tuesday, Bordewieck noted that the town is unsure of the contamination’s source or size.
“Our response depends on where it is and how much of it there is. Once they identify where it is, then they can really focus in on that and identify how big of a contamination spot it is. We need to know these things so we can identify a plan,” Bordewieck explained. “If it’s on BES property, that’s a heightened concern. If it’s on the area surrounding BES, which is a substantial piece of real estate, then less so, because where [Lepore] did the testing appears to be away from anywhere where the kids would be.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.