Contaminated Soil Found at Goodyear

The Brunswick News

It's official: Some soil at Goodyear Elementary School is potentially unsafe and has to go.

Now, it's just a matter of getting the dirt replaced before students return to school in August.

John Patrick, of EMC Engineering Services Inc., said during a workshop meeting of the Glynn County Board of Education Tuesday that an area equal to 800 cubic yards of soil at the school needs to be replaced because of potentially unsafe levels of chemical residue.

More soil could turn out to be affected when all results of a recent round of tests are in Friday, Patrick said.

Board members Tuesday approved spending up to $175,000 for the removal and replacement of the dirt.

Patrick said any part of the property which exceeded 1,000 parts per billion of the substance benzo(a)pyrene - which results from combustion and is a suspected carcinogen - would be hauled out and replaced. Anything in excess of 1,640 parts per billion is unsafe by legal standards, Patrick said, meaning the soil replacement will exceed legal safety requirements.

The affected areas would be cleared of soil to depths of from 1 to 4 feet, depending on levels of contamination, Patrick said.

Al Boudreau, the system's facilities director, said the project could start within a week and be completed within 14 days after. New soil would be tested before and after being placed, he said.

"Right now, we're focused on getting the place cleaned up, so we can be comfortable going back to school," Boudreau said.

School resumes Aug. 10. The source of the contamination has not been identified.