Sludge Watch ==> More on Milorganite Contaminated Fields in Milwaukee

[Maureen Reilly]

MPS Activities Moved Due to Tainted Soil
Ty Milburn & Lauren Leamanczyk
MILWAUKEE - Approximately 25 athletic fields and playgrounds associated with 
Milwaukee Public Schools have now been closed due to an ever-widening 
fertilizer contamination.

On Tuesday night, normally busy softball fields at Wick Park and Dyer Park 
were empty. Steve Tiefenthaler was stunned when he showed up with his glove. 
"Shouldn't the county have known that they were spreading this stuff?" he 
asked.

MPS released a statement Tuesday listing the fields and playgrounds that it 
believes may have been treated with the same toxic chemicals as five 
Milwaukee County parks.

The MPS activities effected are as follows:

Pulaski High School - soccer and practice fields
South Division High School - practice field
Rodgers Field - playgrounds
Burnham Field - playgrounds, wading pool
Lincoln Field – softball diamond
Emigh Field - softball field
Lewis Field - softball field
Bay View High School - practice field
Hamilton High School - football, baseball fields
Wick Field - 7 softball diamonds
Dyer Field - football, hardball fields and 2 softball diamonds
Metcalf School - football field
Kosciuszko School (South Stadium) - football field
Washington High School Complex - football field
Custer High School - practice field, football field
Custer Stadium - football field
Riverside High School - practice field
Marshall High School - practice field
Madison High School - practice field
Carmen Playfield – grassy area
Rufus King High School - practice field
Roosevelt Middle School - front lawn
Vincent High School - soccer field, main football field and 2 practice areas
Juneau Playfield - football field
Juneau High School - football field

"All sports and recreation activities scheduled in the affected fields will 
be moved to other locations or temporarily canceled," spokeswoman Roseann 
St. Aubin said in the statement. "The MPS Recreation Division staff at (414) 
475-8410 can answer questions regarding new locations, some of which are 
still being determined at this hour."

Victor Fowler is not happy to learn the Riverside football field where he 
brings his son to play may have been fertilized with toxic PCBs. "It's a 
detriment to my child's health and to anybody else's children's health," he 
said.

Fowler plans to keep his son away from the parks for a while. He said he 
can't figure out why it took five extra days to identify the MPS fields as 
risks. "It opens up more speculation to who else or what else are they doing 
that is bad for us?"

A fifth Milwaukee County Park was deemed to have been potentially affected 
Monday. Officials now say it could be months before the roped-off areas in 
five parks are safe. The area is a soccer field in the Root River 
Parkway-South. It joins areas in four other parks that were closed off 
Friday.

The affected county parks are:
• Madison - golf course and ball diamonds
• Grant - soccer fields
• Sheridan - ball diamonds
• Kulwicki - ball diamonds
• Root River Parkway-South - soccer field #2

Many people are concerned after learning dangerous chemicals were found in 
fertilizer dumped at the five Milwaukee County parks, and now the school 
properties.

John Harper loves bringing his son, Jackson, to Grant Park in South 
Milwaukee. But he said he is worried about Jackson's safety now that some 
toxic chemicals, PCBs, were detected in the fertilizer used on a soccer 
field.

"As a parent, it makes me concerned this has been going on," he said.

PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, could cause long-term neurological 
problems if they're ingested. PCBs are also known to cause cancer in 
animals.

The Environmental Protection Agency has been called in to figure out how to 
get rid of the PCBs. But at this point, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage 
District officials, the group that donated the fertilizer to the county, 
still don't know exactly how it got there in the first place.

When asked, Jeff Spence of MMSD said, "That's what we are trying to find out 
as well."

At Grant Park Monday, the soccer field has been fenced off. There are signs 
posted to warn people to stay away. It is not clear how long the soccer 
field will be out of commission.

It could take weeks, maybe even months. MMSD officials say their goal is to 
fix the problem ASAP.

"Our goal in the future is to make sure things like this don't occur," 
Spence said.

In the meantime, John Harper said he believes that now that the EPA, a 
federal agency, is involved, they will make sure rigorous testing and 
cleanup are done to rid the parks of PCBs and put his mind at ease.

For more information, visit maps of contaminated areas in 5 parks.


http://www.todaystmj4.com/news/local/8668637.html