DURHAM, N.C. – The City of Durham is hosting a public forum Wednesday night to update people on the soil contamination testing at five city parks.
This comes after a study by a Duke University graduate student in 2022 found unsafe levels of lead. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are all involved now.
It’s been about 10 months since the City of Durham put up fencing and signs at five parks because high levels of lead were found in the ground. East Durham Park, East End Park, Lyon Park, Northgate Park and Walltown Park all have areas that are being tested for soil contamination.
In March, NCDEQ sent preliminary investigation reports to the City of Durham for each of the five parks in the Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program (PRLP). The city says this is, "a critical first step to determine the comprehensive risk analysis of each park." Meanwhile, many community members, including Joseph Blue, are expressing concern.
Living right behind Walltown Park in Durham for decades has its perks, especially when you have grandkids like Blue.
“We could be cooking out and they run straight through the cut and then they’d be in the park,” Blue said.
But the park is now lined with bright orange fencing and warning signs. Blue says it’s no longer the safe place he thought he knew growing up.
“They’d play in the backyard and play over here at the park. My grandson, he would play football over here all the time. He actually would go in this creek and play because he’s heard the stories from me talking about how I played in the creek,” Blue said. “You want to go out and get some sunlight and feel like you're safe, but then it’s not safe.”
The Durham native says he’s always been involved in community meetings but became even more invested over the last year after learning the city was testing soil at five city parks, including Walltown, for lead and other contaminants.
“They’re still saying they have to figure out what parts are infected. But you roped off the whole park,” Blue said. “This is going to be a process and it's going to be ongoing, it looks like, for a while.”
Blue says he doesn’t blame current city leaders but believes it is their responsibility now to make sure these spaces are safe for future generations.
“A lot of questions. I'm going to find out who gives the answers and are the answers true answers to the questions,” Blue said. “They just need to come up with the solutions. And then what solution is going to fix the problem and not put a Band-Aid on the problem? That's the main issue with me. If you're going to do it, go on and fix it where we don't have to worry about it again.”
He says he and other community members will stay on top of the progress and promises made as time moves forward.
“So if we don't continue to put the pressure on them, this could look like this for years. Who knows,” Blue said.
Blue says he’s also concerned his property may be contaminated, but says he’ll look into testing after he learns more about the findings from Walltown Park.
The last update from the City of Durham was in late April, and the statement reads in part, “We have been working with NCDEQ to actively assess and provide updated information on the remediation of lead and other hazards in the five parks that contain soil from pre-regulatory landfills.”
The city’s virtual public forum is being held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Officials with the city, DHHS and DEQ are all expected to share information on the situation.
For more details, visit the city of Durham’s Soil and Property Testing website.