McCarren Has Highest Lead Levels Of Parks Tested In New Study

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Soil at a corner of McCarren Park that is known to be populated with picnicking families in the warm weather has lead levels above the health guidelines set by the state, a new study found.

A report on the lead levels in several New York City parks by WNYC found that a spot toward the top of a plot in the northeast corner of the park has lead levels at 416 ppm, above the New York State and Environmental Protection Agency standard of 400 ppm.

The researchers collected 30 samples in the plot and found that 87 percent were above 150 ppm, a standard that has been proposed to replace the current New York State guideline. McCarren's average lead level was 201 ppm, making it the most contaminated park of the three that WNYC tested.

The report notes the Center for Disease Control believes no amount of lead can be considered safe and California has lowered its standard to 80 ppm. The study also found high lead levels in Prospect Park and Astoria Park.

“In my view it's considered pretty high,” said Dr. Zhongqi Cheng, head of the Urban Soils Lab, about the three park's results. “Especially if your kids are playing there, getting the dirt into their hand and mouth. I think you do need to minimize the exposure and health risk.”

Researchers guessed that the high lead levels could be because of Greenpoint and Williamsburg's history as factory towns. Brooklyn once produced nearly half of all the lead paint made in the U.S., including at a lead paint factory that used to sit right next to McCarren Park, the report said.

Insurance maps also reveal that a company that made window sashes, blinds and doors once occupied the site in the 1880’s.

Cheng recommends covering contaminated areas in parks — either with clean soil, mulch or landscaping fabric — as opposed to removing it, which can cause its own set of problems.

The report notes that the city's health commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said last fall, "Soil is not, I repeat not, a significant source of lead exposure for children in New York City."