Overview:
-An elementary school built on contaminated property sits across the street from the southwest Detroit neighborhood flooded in a February water main break.
-State inspectors visited the Roberto Clemente school site on Feb. 21, four days after the flood, and on March 3, and did not observe any impact.
-Two experts tell Planet Detroit that while no immediate action is required, monitoring groundwater elevations and basement air quality near the school would be prudent.
Officials say that two state-regulated contaminated sites near February’s water main break in southwest Detroit escaped flooding and pose no risk to residents.
An initial map produced by the Great Lakes Water Authority showed the two sites within the affected area. Officials later said the sites were not flooded.
After the Feb. 17 flood, residents were worried that contaminated water may have entered their basements, according to Georgette Johnson, a city spokesperson. In response to those concerns, Detroit’s Buildings, Safety, Engineering, and Environment Department distributed a flyer to impacted residents reassuring them the flood water never reached two known contaminated sites in the area.
City officials and environmental experts that Planet Detroit spoke with agree that no immediate action is needed at the sites. Environmental experts said groundwater shifts could pose risks and suggested precautionary monitoring. City, state, and GLWA officials maintain that additional testing is unnecessary since the contaminated sites were never flooded.
One of the contaminated sites, Roberto Clemente Learning Academy, a pre-kindergarten through fifth grade Detroit public school, sits atop capped soil containing potentially carcinogenic organic chemicals like petroleum hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, according to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.
The Roberto Clemente property has multiple types of barriers in place depending on the type of land use. The playground areas have 6 inches of sand overlain with a 4-inch concrete slab, 4 inches of pea gravel, a demarcation barrier, and 12 inches of mulch, said Josef Greenberg, spokesperson for EGLE.
State inspectors visited the Roberto Clemente site on Feb. 21, four days after the flood, and on March 3, and did not observe any impact. They did observe surface erosion from high foot traffic in several areas along walkways to the south and east of the school, Greenberg said. He said the state environmental regulator has requested that the school district repair the eroded areas.
Contaminated materials at the other site in the neighborhood, located at 1228 Central Ave, were removed, Greenberg said. The site does not appear to be in use and is classified as commercial vacant land.
City building official: No testing needed
When a water main breaks and floods, the resulting high groundwater levels can put increased pressure on nearby structures, potentially causing water to seep into cracks and foundations, Carol Miller, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wayne State University, told Planet Detroit.
Subsurface soil contamination could leach into the water, entering nearby structures, Miller said. She said exposure to vapor intrusion through foundation cracks to chemicals like carcinogenic PAHs, VOCs, and PCBs could impact the health of residents in the surrounding neighborhood. Potential health risks include respiratory issues, neurological damage, and long-term health problems.
Brendan O’Leary, a post-doctoral fellow at WSU who studies how contaminant movement through groundwater and soil affects health, said the type of contaminants found at the school typically float on top of the water table and could enter basements during flooding as the water table rises.
O’Leary and Miller said they believe no immediate action is required at Roberto Clemente based on officials’ statements, adding that monitoring the area’s groundwater elevations and basement air quality would be prudent.
David Bell, director of the city’s building department, said a monitoring program that includes groundwater elevation and basement air quality is unwarranted.
“The environmental experts who conduct environmental activities daily for the City of Detroit and [EGLE] are in complete agreement that [O’Leary and Miller’s] suggested testing is unnecessary based on the facts,” Bell said.
Floodwaters reached basements near the school. Ana Soto, a Chatfield Street resident who lives across from the school, said water entered her basement during the flood when Planet Detroit spoke with her last month. “I didn’t lose anything, thank god, the water did not rise very much,” Soto said in Spanish.
All of the flooded basements have been cleaned and sanitized by crews hired by the city, according to John Roach, spokesperson for the city.
Elementary school site once home to industry
Before becoming a school, the Roberto Clemente site housed multiple industrial operations involving metals, chemicals, and military equipment. This history left behind a toxic legacy, including potentially carcinogenic PAHs, PCBs, and VOCs — chemicals linked to lung disease, neurological damage, and other health issues.
Contaminants at Roberto Clemente included PAHs, a group of chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil and gas, or garbage; PCB, a manmade organic chemical; and volatile organic carbons, or VOCs, which are often released into the air from products like paints, cleaning supplies, and new furniture.
Long-term exposure to PAHs may increase the risk of cancer. Potential health impacts from PCB exposure can include immune, reproductive, neurological, and endocrine problems. Contact with VOCs can cause eye, nose, or throat irritation, headaches, nausea, and loss of coordination.
Exposure barriers, including an extensive site cap, pavement, and the school building itself, were installed to prevent human exposure, according to a 2001 Michigan Department of Health and Human Services press release issued at the time of the school’s construction. Much of the contamination was removed during remediation and construction, but some contaminants, particularly arsenic, remain in soil at the property, the MDHHS said at the time.
Contaminated sites at risk from climate change
Climate change is expected to increase the frequency of water main breaks due to more volatile temperature fluctuations. “Weather whiplash” events — rapid transitions between warm and cold temperatures — can cause metal pipes to expand and contract, leading to fractures in aging infrastructure. Additionally, prolonged heat can dry out soil, causing it to shift and stress water mains.
Climate change could trigger more water main breaks like Southwest Detroit disaster
Increasingly volatile winter temperatures and prolonged summer heat may be creating problems for Detroit’s aging water infrastructure.
Experts warn that many of the state’s more than 24,000 contaminated sites are vulnerable to flooding from infrastructure failures and increased precipitation as the climate changes. Like the two shown on GLWA’s affected area map, many sites are in densely populated urban areas. Disturbances like flooding can mobilize contaminants and pose a risk of exposure.
Legislation to force polluters to help pay for cleanup of contaminated sites in Michigan failed during last year’s lame duck session in Lansing.
Can Dems pass pollution cleanup bills before it’s too late?
The Michigan Senate passed a pollution cleanup package Friday. The bills are pared-down versions of earlier ‘polluter pay’ bills. But backers say they could still improve pollution cleanups and provide greater transparency for contaminated sites.
What a return to ‘polluter pay’ could mean for Michigan
Michigan has more than 24,000 contaminated sites. Lawmakers want to bring back accountability for polluters, but opponents say that would stymie redevelopment.
Climate change could threaten at least 60% of U.S. Superfund sites, according to a 2021 Government Accountability Office report. The Superfund program holds the parties responsible for the contamination to either perform cleanups or reimburse the government for EPA-led cleanup work.
Twenty EPA Superfund sites in Michigan, including Parsons Chemical Works in Grand Ledge, the Shiawassee River in Howell, and the Verona Well Field in Battle Creek, are at high risk of flooding due to climate change, according to the Lansing State Journal. These sites face a 1% chance of flooding each year.