State to handle toxic cleanup at elementary school next to Superfund site

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Department of Environmental Protection will begin cleaning up more arsenic contamination found at Susie E. Tolbert Elementary.

Action News Jax obtained letters from the Environmental Protection Agency to both Duval County Public Schools and the Mayor’s Office about arsenic concentrations found on the eastern boundary of the school.

The letters say that the samples were taken in March of this year and received in May. Authorities said the levels detected “do not pose an imminent threat to public health or the environment.”

Susie E. Tolbert Elementary School is right next to the old Fairfax Street Wood Treater plant.

The EPA says for 30 years, operations at the plant resulted in nearby soil and water contamination.

The agency conducted an emergency cleanup after the plant closed eight years ago. While a permanent cleanup plan is in place, it could be several years before that gets done.

In the meantime, the goal is to clean up the soil at Susie E. Tolbert before school begins again in the fall.

Monique Beaver’s daughter is in fifth grade and attends the school.

“It’s really a hazard to the little kids and the kids at Susie Tolbert too,” she said.

For years, neighbors and former employees of Fairfax Street Wood Treaters have said they became sick due to the toxins.

“I try and stay away from it,” said neighbor Travis Payne. “I know it’s contaminated.”

Neighbors and activists plan to meet with EPA representatives on Tuesday afternoon.

Cox Media Group