EPA updates community about Ulysses S. Grant Intermediate School lead clean-up work

The environmental protection agency (EPA) in partnership with Ulysses S. Grant Intermediate school recently held a public meeting on next steps for lead soil testing to allay community concerns.

“This evening is about collaboration…to get the lead out of Trenton,” said Mayor Reed Gusciora to open the evening discussion. NJ Health Representatives, NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP), Trenton Health Department, Isles, East Trenton Collaborative (who previously hosted a community listening session about lead), and the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative were all in attendance to provide community members information about the dangers of lead and what they can do to protect their families from lead exposure.

Recently, the playgrounds and green spaces at Ulysses S. Grant Intermediate School were sealed off after soil lead test results from the EPA showed elevated levels of lead (> 200 ppm lead; the average lead concentration for surface soils on the school property was 312 ppm).

Joel Petty, Remedial Project Manager for the EPA Region 2, and Jon Byk, On-Scene Coordinator for the EPA Region 2, are leading efforts to clean up the lead found in the soil on school grounds. “In the coming weeks, we will begin actions to clean up the play areas around the Ulysses S. Grant,” said Jon Byk. The clean-up will continue through the end of Spring, according to Byk.

Alongside the clean-up effort the team from EPA will continue their outreach efforts as they expand their work across East Trenton.

East Trenton became the primary focus of soil lead testing efforts, which began in 2018, after the NJ DEP notified the EPA region 2 team of the history of soldering manufacturing facilities (in 2018) and then pottery factories (in 2020) in the neighborhood. The team at EPA identified over 30 former pottery manufacturing properties in East Trenton (however, there are as many as 150 former pottery manufacturing operations according to the Trenton City Museum).

Pottery factories are associated with widespread lead contamination. This is because traditional ceramicware created by old pottery factories, such as those once found in Trenton, were coated with a glaze that allowed the pottery to hold food or liquids. The glaze that coated traditional ceramicware contained lead, and over time residuals of the chemicals that were used to create this glaze contaminated soil in places like the Grant Intermediate School grounds.

During the fall and winter the team at EPA sampled soil from over 100 properties in East Trenton. Most were residential properties, though the team also sampled soils from three parks and two schools – Ulysses S. Grant Intermediate and Darlene C. McKnight Elementary School.

McKnight was not found to have elevated lead levels because most of the property is covered with blacktops. Blacktops prevent people from interacting with soil that contains lead.

“The kids have recess inside right now and we want to get them back outside,” Byk told parents attending the meeting. To protect the kids the team at EPA is “[planning to create] a temporary barrier on top of the contaminated area,” Byk continued. Byk made it clear that the team is conscious of what material that temporary barrier will be made of, as some artificial ground covers like turf contain dangerous cancer-causing chemicals (or carcinogens) that would only end up trading out one health threat for another.

Parents of both current and former students were also concerned about the possibility that their children were infected with lead.

The Trenton Health Department is currently working with the staff at Grant Intermediate School and NJ Health to bring lead testing kits to the kids. And kids who attended Grant Intermediate in the last two years are offered testing for lead.

Trenton Health officials also recommended that any child up to 6 years old, but especially at 1 and 2 years old, from East Trenton should be tested. They’re rapidly growing during this period and exposure to lead can stunt critical development.

For residents of East Trenton who are concerned they may have lead in the soil around their home, the team at EPA will test your soils for free. If you are interested in finding out more, reach out to:

Joel Petty: petty.joel@epa.gov, 212-637-4399

Jonathan Byk: byk.jonathan@epa.gove, 347-899-6210