Here are 5 things you need to know about lead contamination found at Durham parks

Durham residents recently discovered a research paper revealing that soil samples from three city parks contain lead levels significantly higher than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.

Here’s what you need to know about where researchers found contamination, where they suspect more and what it could mean for your family.

Who found the soil contamination?

A Duke University research team sampled soil at the three City of Durham parks. Each of the three had previously housed a garbage incinerator somewhere on the property.

The work was part of then-master’s student Enikoe Bihari’s thesis and was published on Duke’s website. To conduct the research, Bihari and her team visited each park hundreds of times, taking samples of soil located near the surface and measuring lead concentrations found there.

The paper was not peer reviewed, but Bihari and adviser Dan Richter are working on submitting it to a journal now.

“It’s very important to get the scientific community behind this,” Richter, a Duke soil scientist, said during a call with concerned residents.

Where is the lead-contaminated soil?

Researchers tested soil at East End, East Durham and Walltown parks. Garbage incinerators were once located on parts of all three parks, which is what drew researchers to the areas.

At East Durham Park, Richter said, a forested area in the southeast generally contained the highest contamination. The highest concentration found there was 2,342 ppm. The EPA considers lead in soil a hazard if it contains more than 400 ppm near children’s play areas and 1,200 ppm elsewhere.

Contamination in East End Park is typically found in the southwestern corner, around an abandoned Durham paint and sign shed. Richter said contamination there is likely from the paint. He said dry conditions could allow the soil to blow around easily, carrying lead elsewhere in the city.

Walltown Park was the trickiest for the Duke researchers. Unlike the other two, there was less of an obvious pattern to the elevated lead concentrations.

Samples above the 400 ppm level showed up in different spots throughout much of the park. Richter is particularly worried about elevated lead levels near the basketball courts and horseshoe pits because those areas are used frequently.

The researchers also found high lead concentrations in the bed of Ellerbe Creek, which flows through Walltown Park.

Richter and Bihari recommended sampling at Lyon Park, which also contained an incinerator at one point, and Northgate Park, where fill from some of the other incinerator sites was used in low-lying areas. Additionally, Richter and Bihari said, Durham should identify where a centralized incinerator that opened in the early 1950s was located and sample in that area.

Why is exposure to lead something to worry about?

Lead is a metal that is naturally found at small levels but is toxic when ingested. For decades, it was used in gasoline and paint, exposing children and causing developmental effects such as lower IQs.

Children are particularly susceptible to lead, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because they absorb lead more than adults do and their body parts are “more sensitive” to lead’s impacts.

Additionally, younger children often put their hands into their mouths without washing them or put things they find in their mouths, another potential route of exposure.

All three parks contained samples above the EPA’s recommended maximum levels.

How can I know if my family has been exposed?

The Durham County Public Health Department offers free blood testing for lead for groups of children who are between 6 months and 6 years old. The Health Department does not test individual children.

Child care facilities and elementary schools are examples of facilities that can request tests for kids, but a Durham Public Health spokeswoman said other facilities could also be eligible.

The test involves a finger prick, and appointments can be scheduled by calling 919-560-7845.

Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that some private insurers cover the cost of lead testing in people older than 6 years old.

Lead testing at private health care providers is also free for kids who are enrolled in Medicaid, who are required to be tested for lead at 12 months and 34 months or before they turn 6 years old.

What happens next?

In an email to the Walltown Community Association, Durham City Manager Wanda Page said officials plan to re-test each of the three parks where contamination was found, plus Lyon Park. Page said the city plans to host information sessions around the parks to keep residents updated on the testing and work with the Durham County Department of Public Health to inform those communities about the risks posed by lead.

Toddi Steelman, dean of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, said researchers plan to develop a plain-language summary and infographics spelling out the findings of the report. Steelman also said researchers will meet with community members and help with a community forum where additional steps can be discussed.

Residents are asking for more action, such as signs in each of the parks informing people in multiple languages that lead has been found there. Richter said he would like to see the old paint shop at East End Park fenced in again, with a fence also surrounding Ellerbe Creek in Walltown Park.

This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners, as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work.