Testing of Soils Along Neponset River Finds Area Safe for Recreational Use
Meetings to be Held in Hyde Park and Dorchester to Present Results to the Public

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), and the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will hold two public meetings to discuss a report on "Neponset River Restoration, Human Health and Environmental Risk, and River Bank Dredge Spoils Testing Results Presented for Boston/Milton."

The meetings will be held:

* Monday, April 28, 6-8 p.m., at Hyde Park Branch Library, 35 Harvard Ave., Hyde Park

* Tuesday, May 6, 6:30-8:30 p.m., at St. Gregory School, 2214 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester

A river bank sampling program was initiated to determine if soils dredged from the Neponset River in the 1960s and deposited along the shoreline, contained levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or metals such as lead and arsenic. PCBs were commonly used in transformers and other electric components beginning in the 1930s until they were banned in the late 1970s. Metals were often present in industrial wastes, which may have impacted the river decades ago.

Details will be available during the public meetings, but state officials note that the soil and sediment sampling from late December 2007 and January 2008 show that the areas from which those samples were taken are safe for recreational use by the public. One limited area behind the DCR building located at 7 Brush Hill Avenue in Milton was determined to have elevated lead concentrations that will require limited removal of contaminated soil. 

Surface soils were collected from 80 locations along walking paths and bike trails throughout six separate areas that extend from the Ryan Playground to the Tilestone & Hollingsworth Dam.  Surface sediment samples were collected from one canoe launch near Ryan Playground (350 River Street in Mattapan) and the two canoe launches near Kennedy Playground (Edgewater Drive in Mattapan).

At the public meetings, the presentations will include an overview of:

* The studies conducted to assess possible contamination present in and adjacent to the river;

* The process used to evaluate human health and environmental risks associated with contamination; and

* The investigation and cleanup activities that will need to be incorporated into future river restoration projects to ensure public and environmental safety.

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