The Environmental Protection Agency expects to begin cleaning up soil with high levels of lead and arsenic at Park Crest Elementary School in Garland and in nearby residential areas by the end of August.
Eric Delgado, the EPA’s on-scene coordinator for the former Globe Union lead battery manufacturing site in Garland, said the agency anticipates spending about 10 weeks on cleanup, a year after the contamination was first identified.
“Mitigation and cleanup of this type of contamination is pretty straightforward,” Delgado told neighborhood residents at a Thursday evening meeting. “We remove the contaminated soil from your property, we dispose of it properly and we restore the property with materials that have been prescreened for environmental contaminants.”
More than 100 people tuned into the meeting virtually. About 30 more residents attended in person at Garland City Hall to listen and ask questions to EPA, Texas Department of State Health Services, City of Garland and Garland ISD officials.
Delgado said if the agency identifies other area properties with contaminated soil, the cleanup process may take longer than 10 weeks.
A local group of residents called Clean Up Garland began soil testing in the area in September 2019. Their findings prompted the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the EPA to get involved.
In February, the EPA found arsenic levels in soil at 25.3 parts per million in a garden at Park Crest, which exceeds its cleanup standard for...
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