Beard Elementary School

Detroit, USA

ByAaron Alarcon

& Elizabeth Darby

Background

• Original school was located in Southwest Detroit, Michigano Built in 1886o Very smallo No cafeteriao Overcrowdedo Surrounded by industrial plants

58 polluting facilities – majority of them hazardous waste

Background

• Majority of residents are Spanish-speaking, low income, African American and Hispanic immigrants

• New Beard Elementary Schoolo built on 6.45 acres of vacant loto 5 blocks from original schoolo construction began July 2000

Hispanic = 694

White, non-Hispanic = 186Black, non-Hispanic = 148

American Indian/ Alaskan Native = 8

History of site

• 70 years of heavy industrial useo 1909 – brass foundryo 1920-1950 – various companies manufacturing

steel, radiators, lead batteries, pain, adhesive, and pharmaceuticals

o 1950-1964 – US Army owned and operated a tank ordinance center

o 1964 – donated to City Board of Educationo 1965-1981 – used as a vocational skills center

and repair garage for Detroit Public Schools (DPS)o 1981-2000 – vacant; owned by DPS

Problem• Land contaminated with toxic compounds

o leado arsenico polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)o benzo(a)pyreneo Trichloroethyleneo PNCs

• Underground storage tanks (UST)• Environmental racism • Michigan laws

o no regulations for developing schools on brownfield siteso no chemical regulations for children

Problem

• High amount of pollution in air already

• Workers became sick while working on siteo 2 of 25 ironworkers developed rasheso 6 of 98 plumbers made sick with nausea and

rashes

• Unions not warned of problems by DPS or contractors

Key Actors

• Community Memberso Need new school but are worried about their children’s health

• Detroit Public Schools (DPS) o Believe the clean up will be acceptable o Want to start activities in the school soon as soon as possible

• Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) o Played a key role in ensuring that DPS performed a

responsible cleanup of the siteo requested additional testing in July 2000 and September 2000

• Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV)o the main environmental justice group in the caseo has used legal actions to ensure DPS will do what they have

promisedo worked to educate and organise community members

Solution

• DPS proposalo removal of 30.48 cm of soil, replacing it with 10.16

cm of crushed concrete and 20.32 cm of new soilo cost £75,000

• Final Plano excavation and removal of all contaminated soilo site cap installed preventing direct contact with

potentially contaminated soil on all areas not covered by school building or pavement

Solution - 2000 • Site assessment began in 1999

• June 2000o Radiation survey performedo No violations

• July 2000 o 2 underground storage tanks (UST) and discoloured soil from

around the tanks removedo contaminated soil from 10 sites removedo Construction began

• October 2000o Site re-assessedo Contaminated berm found and removed

Solution – 2001

• February 2001o 2 more USTs removed

• April 2001o 2nd assessment of siteo All remaining waste objects removed

• Summer 2001o Removal of existing surface 17.78 – 66 cm below final grade

and off-site disposalo Final site assessment

5 areas with high PCB levels were excavated

Solution - Procedure

• Soil removal processo 9.144 meter square

areaso Centered at high

concentrationso Removed and disposed

of at off site locationso Samples from walls and

floors taken to confirm removal

http://www.envirocon.com/projects/western/rad_hanford.htm

Solution - Procedure

• Site Capso Divided into 3 zones based on

contaminant type and intensity

• Landscaping Areas

Existing soil

20.32 cm of top soil

10.16 cm of compacted crushed concrete

Geotextile layer

Solution - Procedure

20.32 cm of top soil

20.32 cm of crushed concrete

Existing soil

• Baseball and Soccer Fieldso ALSO - Under the baselines of the baseball field an

additional 7.62 cm of crushed concrete and 12.7 cm of stone dust were placed

Geotextile layer

Solution - Procedure

• Kindergarten and Preschool Play Areas

MOST CONSERVATIVEo Geotextile layer over existing soilo 15.24 cm of sando 10.16 cm thick concrete slab w/

reinforced concreteo 10.16 cm of pea gravelo 30.48 cm of wood fibre as cushioned

barriero 20.32 cm of concrete wall tied with 10.16

cm concrete slab surrounding entire area to keep other soil out

Results

• School opened in September 2001

• DPS have developed the Due Care Plan for monthly inspections to ensure that unacceptable exposures will not occur in the future.o site cap

o paved areas

o concrete building floor

o other exposure barriers

• DPS will monitor land and send reports to SDEV and community

Alternate Solutions

• Arsenic and Lead o Phytoremediation

Add bacterial genes to plants First gene helps convert arsenic/lead from soil to

a form water-soluble state able to be ‘sucked up’ by plants

Second gene helps the plant detoxify heavy metals and accumulate the molecules in its leaves

Brake fern, Pteris vittata (arsenic only) – University of Florida

Soaks up arsenic from contaminated soil w/ great efficiency

Phytoremediation

Alternate Solutions

• Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)o incineration in an approved incinerator or high-efficiency

boiler (stationary or mobile)

• Trichloroethylene (TCE)o Lasagna™ soil remediation technology

use of electro-osmosis to move contaminated water through specially designed zones that degrade the water in-situ.

• Benzo(a)pyreneo Inject ozone into soil to promote degradation of

polyaromatic hydrocarbonso Treatment requires specialized plants – ozonation systems