An environmental expert said the discovery of the hazardous chemical arsenic at Swann Park in South Baltimore last week may not be an isolated case, given the city?s history.
“The city is filled with all of these old industrial sites abandoned or being redeveloped, and the historical records aren?t always great,” said Terry Harris, chairman of the Cleanup Coalition, a Baltimore-based group that monitors toxic sites in the city.
“It wouldn?t surprise me with the high number of old properties being redeveloped around the city to see this problem elsewhere,”Harris said.
Swann Park closed indefinitely Thursday. Mayor Sheila Dixon said the city Parks and Recreation Department would undertake a citywide review of its facilities.
“We will be looking at city parks close to old industrial cites specifically,” Dixon said Monday. “The department will be researching historical records to see if other tests are needed.”
Swann Park, located next to a former pesticide plant owned by Allied Chemical, was found to have enough arsenic to pose long-term health threats. Low-term exposure of arsenic increases the risks for certain types of cancers, such as liver, lung and skin cancer. High levels of exposure can cause death.
City Health Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein said his department is working with the Maryland Department of the Environment to identify other potential hazards in the city.
Harris said historical records of the types of contaminants are sometimes lost.
“It?s only because somebody found a box of papers that we know about Swann Park,” he said.
