Yeah, who in their right minds builds a park on top of a landfill not expecting issues at some point! DUH!

During the 1980's, when I biked or walked around Votee, I could see that the company that had the contract to dump "top soil" for soccer field renovation, was actually dumping junk. This included stuff that looked like it came from a landfill. I reported this to the then manager - who did nothing. The same thing happened at the Southern end of Votee, on the West side of the street. I reported that, too, and was ignored. If the current administration and Council look up the records re soccer field renovations - perhaps those administrators and contractors can be brought to justice. THEY KNEW they were dumping bad stuff.

I think the Manager and Mayor should be commended for taking prompt and prudent action, protecting both public safety and our stressed municipal financial resources. It may by that PCBs were not known to be dangerous back in the 1950s when they were buried there. Hopefully remediation will be limited, complete and reasonable in cost.

I would be curious to know about the experiences of other municipalities that have dealth with this same calamitous and costly predicament. What are some best practices for remediation we can learn from?

Please, let's not have a repeat of what Paramus went through in 2007 when soil at one of its middle schools was found to have elevated levels. The school was shut down, which was followed by public hysteria, threats of physical harm against public officials and thousands in unnecessary costs for what proved not to be a significant threat to anyone's well-being.

Eric - I hope you are 100% right. But as a coach of multiple sports in that park, parent playing with my children in that park several times a month, spending 150+ hours in that park a year, I really hope it is a very minor issue. For now, I will just hope and pray it is minor, will be quickly cleaned up and that our township's children are not, and were not in harm's way.

I am proud to live in a town that saw an issue, quickly publicized it and is working on cleaning it up.

Pretty disturbing, though I commend the manager for his swift actions to close the park understanding public safety, I am nonetheless concerned about the children like my son(s) who have been playing soccer on that field since they were very young. Votee was not originally built on a landfill. Perhaps if you go over to degraw and Teaneck rd towards NJ turnpike those buildings were built on landfills. The real concern is or will be the potential harm of exposure residents and particularly children might have from this contamination. I'm deeply concerned that children who play soccer and fall down in that contaminated soil and wiping their faces when they become sweaty what that could mean down the line for their health. I look forward to follow-up information on this tragedy!

Patricia: The best part of this bad news is that the current samples do not exceed federal standards so concentrations may be measurable but still low. Hopefully that will be confirmed when a more thorough sampling is taken. Perhaps PCBs and benzene may have to be ingested to cause problems. I think the Township should get the EPA involved immediately to get the latest accurate health risk information to us.
Paula: Your report is scary. Knowingly using contaminated soil for public parklands sounds like a criminal act.

Yes Art, while that is true I wonder if there's a way to find out what the original levels might have been or how potentially high? Do PCBs and benzene chemical compounds deplete over time or remain at the original levels? I am hopeful that an EPA or an environmental expert will conduct a thorough and extensive study on the soil and as experts provide information regarding how and in what manner these contaminants can or maybe harmful. Far be it for us to surmise! Again, I am concerned because though the current samples do not exceed federal standards, they most certainly exceed the state standards thus the reason for closing the park.
I expect with urgent and rapid response and due diligence, this issue will be dealt with appropriately!

"Broughton said. Benzo(a)pyrene levels were not immediately available. Broughton said the environmental consultants told him that the PCBs were only harmful if ingested."...yeah this part bothers me. Inhaling/skin contact are also harmful to humans not just ingesting them (PCB's).

I have full confidence in the township Manager and his staff that they will correct the problem and provide the township residents with the requisite data. The township Manager's rapid response demonstrates his concern and understanding of this potentially dangerous situation.

The entire town of Teaneck is contaminated with harmful political Liberal toxins and the state has no money to remediate. So, no private jobs = no public money.

Avi,

While I agree with you that very often Teaneck manages to turn many topic into politics, cultural, religious or other divisive conversations, how could we question the move the township did this week with Votee Park?

I am strongly hoping and praying that this is a relatively low reading, the more sophisticated testing will result in similar low numbers and the matter can be addressed fully, at a reasonable cost. But when we have thousands of people using the park monthly, including most of the township’s youth regularly, be it by way of youth recreational sports, club sports, THS sports or just family fun, how could we not error on the side of caution and SHUT IT DOWN asap and get experts on scene to test, clean up and certify that our children are and will be safe?

Please don’t misinterpret my comment to be that I do not want people to voice their opinions or points of view, but when we are dealing with our health and the health of our children, how could being cautious and thorough ever be political?

I wonder where the Mayor learned that the park had been a landfill in the 1950s. I recently saw pictures of the park, then called central park, from the 1940s. I think he may be wrong on this one and if so what is the real source of these contaminants?

So where did he come up with this 1950's landfill business I wonder?

In a follow up interview this morning, the Township Manager said the source is believed to be from fill used in the park. The park was not a landfill, he said.

Thank you for these updates.. we are worried but i do thik the Town Manager has done a good job getting the word out. We should see the middle ground here: Above NJ regulation but BELOW federal... that probably means it's not a huge issue. I do still give our Town govt credit for responding immediately and staying on it. I will be reading for more updates.

After years of coaching soccer in those fields for women, boys and girls I can tell you that there were many people who ate dirt and had lots of contact with the soil in the soccer fields. It is a “contact sport” and as such, the players not only have contact with each other but the field too! How about the games played in the rain!! Please, don't get me started, it's pretty obvious to me that many of the people that I coached and played with "ate dirt" plenty of times.
But, while we're at it, why not check the possibility of contamination at the area in the park where the bathrooms (I use that term loosely...) are located. They have been nasty since I was eight years old! I can't believe that the water currently draining from there, the products from cleaning that area and waste is any safer than the soccer fields! My friend and I walked the park this summer and had to walk around the waste water from the urinals and whatever else is coming from the original bathrooms that were built back in the day. It's another possible area that is posing a safety hazard in the park. It needs to be checked. The bathrooms should be bull dozed and a new, sanitary facility should be built for the public to use.

"The field would be fenced off, along with additional police patrols and signs around the park. "
I hope that the additional expense, on my tax dollars, will prevent the contaminants from escaping. But what if the PCB's can't read signs, or elude the police?

After about 15 years of having my kids play soccer at Votee, I must have a two or three cubic yards worth of park outside my front door, where I had the kids clean off their cleats before stepping inside. I always knew it would be the right thing, but I guess now would be a good time to return all that dirt back to Votee Park from whence it came.

I seriously hope people know the park is closed and contaminated. Drove by there a couple of times yesterday in the early morning and just after noon. The yellow tape only loosely cordoned off the park areas, and the warning signs looked like they were no bigger than 8.5 x 11, in black lettering. In short, not much of a warning to stay off the grass, etc. I doubt the town is taking this seriously.

I drove by yesterday it didn't even look like the park was closed-is it still closed? I saw people walking thru there. I think they should put up better things than yellow tape to keep people out of there. Like big signs every 100 feet or so, & can't they do a reverse 911 to let people know it's closed & why? Put flyers on people's doors or mailboxes to let us know. I don't go to that park anymore-it's close to my house but my kids are all grown up now & we no longer have a dog but I think it's important to know that this is closed and why-also what are they doing to clean this up would be nice to know also. I agree with you Tony I don't think they are taking this seriously at all.