As residents called for the
removal of a mound of toxin-laden dirt from Wyman Park, Baltimore officials Thursday continued to
insist the dirt posed no threat.
The city?s response came after an Examiner story revealed city officials knew for months that the dirt, extracted from a construction site across the street, was contaminated with what state environmental officials have deemed unsafe levels of diesel fuel.
Ian Brennan, a spokesman for Mayor Sheila Dixon, defended the city?s Department of Public Works and said it would comply with requirements of the Maryland Department of the Environment.
“DPWis going to continue consulting with MDE,” Brennan said. “We will follow this as it develops.”
Because the dirt sits in a park, it?s in a nonresidential area
and poses no threat, Brennan said.
The mound is about 100 yards from homes in Remington, near the Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus.
The MDE appears to have backed off from its Wednesday statements that the soil should have been removed, saying it?s
far enough from residents to be safe.
Herb Meade, an MDE spokesman, wrote in a June 5 e-mail to DPW that the dirt pile is part of the construction project and “therefore placing the soil in the staging area with proper sediment controls is not a violation of Maryland Oil Pollution Regulations.”
That contrasts sharply with what Meade said Wednesday, when he told The Examiner the soil should not have been left at the park for more than seven months and that it “should not come in contact with human beings.”
Construction managers for the city told the contractors to leave the dirt at a Wyman Park site near a private school in the city?s Remington neighborhood in November, despite its having twice the toxicity level allowed by MDE, documents state.
Frustrated residents continued to demand the immediate removal of the mound.
“It should definitely be removed, especially since we don?t know how some chemicals affect children,” Aleen Monahan, 31, said as she walked her 5-month-old son, Oliver.
“It?s just amazing that it?s there, given what happened to me,” added Cathey Allison, who lives several blocks from the park. Shenoted the city had fined her $400 for having a gallon of hogwash in her back yard.
“The city,” Allison said, “should play by its own rules.”
Some city lawmakers shared residents? sentiments.
“I think we need it out of there now,” said Democratic City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, whose 14th District includes Wyman Park.
We have three construction projects going on in the Wyman Park area, and we want no toxic remains.”
Baltimore National Association for the Advancement of Colored People President Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, whose organization is getting more involved in environmental issues, said he was concerned about the proximity of the dirt to a nearby school.
“This one is really scary,” Cheatham said. “It looks like it could be dangerous. What is it doing sitting in the middle of park where children play? It should be removed now.”
