Workers will remove a foot of topsoil and replace it with new dirt, pave a gravel parking lot and possibly replace old playground equipment. Midland-based Dow Chemical Co. will pay the expense, Lee said. He did not have a cost estimate.
Work is set to start Friday, April 24, and finish by mid-July, Lee said. The park, along the Tittabawassee River at 5951 W. Michigan, will remain open to visitors for the Walleye Festival that weekend but will close the following week during the removal.
Mary Draves, a Dow spokeswoman, said the chemical giant wants to conduct the cleanup in as safe and efficient manner and return the park as quickly as possible to residents. She said because Dow is outlining the project in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, she had no estimate on the cost.
Researchers have linked dioxin contamination to Dow releases in Midland in the 20th century.
Officials have found dioxin in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers, Saginaw Bay, nearby floodplains.
The cleanup is part of a remediation plan Dow agreed to with the EPA, Lee said.
Past tests of 289 soil samples revealed 80 with dioxin levels above 1,000 parts per trillion, an EPA spokesman has said. That's also the point state guidelines direct corrective measures. The highest level measured 5,900 points per trillion, the federal agency has reported. The state average for dioxin in soil is 7 parts per trillion.
Crews were also set to remove and replace contaminated soil from the Riverview condominium complex, east of the park on West Michigan, and 10 residential properties to the west, the EPA has said.
The park and surrounding area often flood, the federal agency has said, which happened again in February.
Lee said the suburb has not discussed with Dow who would pay for future cleanups should the park flood again.
"This has not come up," he said, but added the chemical maker would "hopefully" pay future costs.
While Graves couldn't speculate on costs, she said Dow will offer an interim response to help cleanup sediment that has deposited after a flood.
At least once a year since 2004, Dow has sent crews to clean up after Tittabawassee River floods at Imerman Memorial Park on Midland near McCarty. The company also has removed at least 10 "hot" spots along the waterways of the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers. In 2007, authorities found a sample measuring 1.6 million parts per trillion in the Saginaw River next to Wickes Park.
The find was 20 times higher than any other in EPA history, researchers said then. Dow removed the contamination.
In the fall of 2008, Dow clean up 11 homes and properties along Riverside Drive, a private Saginaw road next to the Tittabawassee.
A high-level EPA delegation from the Obama administration visited the region last month to meet with officials at Dow, congressional staff, the state Department of Environmental Quality, property owners and community officials. Great Lakes Bay Region leaders are awaiting word on how a future cleanup will proceed.
Staff writer Brian Brunner contributed to this report.
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2009/04/dioxin_cleanup_begins_in_sagin.html
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.