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EPA to Update Red Hook on Contaminated Ball Fields Cleanup

By Nikhita Venugopal | July 29, 2016 3:05pm | Updated on August 1, 2016 8:47am
 A sign posted outside Red Hook ballfields 5, 6, 7 and 8 regarding their closure due to the cleanup of lead contaminated soil.
A sign posted outside Red Hook ballfields 5, 6, 7 and 8 regarding their closure due to the cleanup of lead contaminated soil.
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DNAinfo/Nikhita Venugopal

RED HOOK — The widespread soil contamination and clean-up efforts at Red Hook's ball fields will be discussed during an August public meeting in the neighborhood, officials announced. 

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the city's Department of Parks and Recreation will update the community on the multi-year $105 million remediation plan.

Multiple baseball and soccer fields will remain closed for years during various phases of the cleanup process, officials have said.

The joint meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Miccio Center, located at 110 West 9th Street in Red Hook. Representatives from the agencies will be on hand to answer questions.

In a soil sampling taken in March 2015, officials found “much higher than expected” lead levels at ball fields 5, 6, 7 and 8. Average parts per million in those fields far exceeded the EPA and state standards for action.

The EPA and state standard for lead levels is 400 parts per million. Averages at those fields, however, were 1,580 parts per million in the top inch of soil and 2,240 to 3,795 in the subsurface.

READ ALSO: TIMELINE: City Outlines Cleanup of Red Hook's Contaminated Sports Fields

The significant lead contamination was likely caused by a former smelting and refining facility that was operational in the mid-1920s to the late 1930s. The facility was located on the site of ball field 7 and the Hicks-Lorraine MTA bus stop, according to the EPA. 

The closed sports fields has affected more than local athletes and little leaguers. The popular Red Hook Food Vendors, which serve Latin American street food during summer weekends at the park, have seen sales plummet in the wake of the cleanup.