Archived News Release: June 24, 2019 - Soil testing at the Leslie Science & Nature Center (LSNC) has prompted programming changes out of an abundance of caution.
On Sunday, June 23, the city received formal guidance from an industrial toxicologist indicating that the level of heavy metals, specifically arsenic and lead, at the LSNC were elevated and could pose a risk if soil were to be ingested. As a result, in an abundance of caution the LSNC has moved all programming offsite until further testing is completed. Temporary fencing has been installed to prevent access to the areas that were tested, which includes the future site of a Nature Playscape, which is on hold until further testing is completed and remediation steps are known. Signage will be installed to inform park users to avoid restricted areas.
LSNC Park will remain open while further soil testing is underway and a specific remediation plan is developed with appropriate agencies. The second round of testing should be completed by the end of next week and next steps will be communicated as soon as possible.
“The safety of our families, campers, volunteers and employees is our top priority and we've been working through the weekend to ensure that our families can continue to enjoy an amazing experience at an alternate outdoor location," said Susan Westhoff, executive director of LSNC. “We understand such changes can cause inconvenience and we appreciate the support and understanding by our community while we await the results of further environmental testing by the City of Ann Arbor and a plan to remediate the area."
This spring, LSNC staff completed the final design phase of an inclusive Nature Playscape, which was funded via multiple community grants. The Playscape was planned to be located in the wooded area behind the DTE Energy House.
In April, during the construction planning phase of the project, LSNC asked the city to analyze soil near the construction site after an unnatural depression in the woods was discovered. An old, hand-marked map indicated there may have been a dump site in the woods where there currently are no play structures or programming. The property had been gifted to the City of Ann Arbor by its previous owner Dr. Eugene Leslie, who was active in the field of chemical engineering and was a professor at the University of Michigan. The property was the headquarters for much of his pioneering work and included fruit orchards.
Once city staff became aware of the situation, they engaged Tetratech, an environmental consultant, to gather soil samples from a number of locations in and around the proposed play area and perform testing for a variety of contaminants. Soil samples were collected on May 30. On June 20, the city received draft soil test results, which indicated elevated levels in the reported dump area of the property of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, zinc, selenium, silver and mercury in addition to some semi and volatile organic compounds. Soil samples taken near the Playscape construction area indicated elevated levels of arsenic and lead.
“The city is moving quickly to identify an appropriate remediation plan that will ensure LSNC remains a valuable community asset," said Assistant City Manager John Fournier.
Leslie Science Center separated from the City of Ann Arbor in 2007 and became Leslie Science & Nature Center — an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The City of Ann Arbor continues to own and maintain the buildings and grounds, while the LSNC manages activities and programming.
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Answers to frequently asked questions
Why is the Leslie Science and Nature Center (LNSC) Programming being impacted?
Soil testing at the Leslie Science and Nature Center (LSNC) has prompted programming changes out of an abundance of caution. On Sunday, June 23, the city received formal guidance from an industrial toxicologist indicating that the level of heavy metals, specifically arsenic and lead, at the LSNC were elevated and could pose a risk if soil were to be ingested. As a result, in an abundance of caution the LSNC has voluntarily moved all programming offsite until further testing is completed. Temporary fencing has been installed to prevent access to the areas that were tested, which includes the future site of a Nature Playscape, which is on hold until further testing is completed and remediation steps are known. Signage will be installed to inform park users to avoid restricted areas. LNSC staff will be reaching out directly to program participants with specific program changes and information.
How long will programs be impacted?
Programs will be impacted while further soil testing is completed and a specific remediation plan is developed with appropriate agencies. The second round of testing should be completed by the end of next week and next steps will be communicated as soon as possible.
Is the park open?
The park does remain open, except where temporary fencing has been installed to prevent access to the areas that were tested, which includes the future site of a Nature Playscape. This project is on hold until further testing is completed and remediation steps are known. Signage will be installed to inform park users to avoid restricted areas.
Why was soil testing conducted?
In April, during the construction planning phase of the LNSC Nature Playscape project, LSNC asked the city to analyze soil near the construction site after an unnatural depression in the woods was discovered. An old, hand-marked map indicated there may have been a dump site in the woods where there currently are no play structures or programming. The property had been gifted to the City of Ann Arbor by its previous owner Dr. Eugene Leslie, who was active in the field of chemical engineering and was a professor at the University of Michigan. The property was the headquarters for much of his pioneering work and included fruit orchards.
Once city staff became aware of the situation, they engaged Tetratech, an environmental consultant to gather soil samples from a number of locations in and around the proposed play area and perform testing for a variety of contaminants.
What were the results of soil testing?
The below documents represent a summary of the city’s geotechnical and environmental contractor’s preliminary findings. It is important to note that these findings are preliminary and that additional, more comprehensive testing is currently underway. The results from the second round of testing may differ from the preliminary testing, and therefore citizens should consider this information advisory and not determinative. Some of the data provided in the preliminary results is being retested to further refine the data.
Leslie Science & Nature Center Preliminary Memoradum from Tetra Tech
Soil Data Table
Figure 1 Sampling Locations
There are a few things to note about these preliminary findings. The State of Michigan prescribes generic remediation criteria that are referenced on the table and include contamination levels for groundwater protection, indoor air quality, ambient air quality, and contact (which in the case of arsenic means ingestion). It's important to note that this information is included only because it is part of the generic criteria, and the presence of these columns does not mean that the data indicates an exposure risk along these paths. At this time, the primary concern is about exposure through potential ingestion.
Additionally, there are two standards for contact listed on the spreadsheet, one for “residential” at 7,600 PPB and one for “nonresidential” at 37,000 PPB. These standards represent recommendations assuming regular exposure over a 30-year period. The “residential” standard is lower because a person might come into contact with contaminated soil much more frequently at their home than they would at a nonresidential location such as a park. The state’s generic cleanup criteria require an analysis to use the “residential” standard until a site specific criteria can be determined by the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The memo includes the “nonresidential” standards because it may be a more appropriate standard and the city's final site specific clean-up criteria may be closer to the “nonresidential” standard when testing and remediation recommendations are completed. It is worth noting that while many of the arsenic samples taken exceed the “residential” standard, none of them exceed the “nonresidential” standard. Regardless, the city would like to remediate the levels of arsenic and other compounds on the site so that the exposure risk is much lower than it is now.
Why is the city doing the testing?
Leslie Science Center separated from the City of Ann Arbor in 2007 and became Leslie Science & Nature Center — an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. However, the City of Ann Arbor continues to own and maintain the buildings and grounds, while the LSNC manages activities and programming. The two entities work in partnership to manage and program the facility.
What may have caused the soil contamination that was detected on the site?
LSNC asked the city to analyze soil near the construction site after an unnatural depression in the woods was discovered. An old, hand-marked map indicated there may have been a dump site in the woods where there currently are no play structures or programming. The property had been gifted to the City of Ann Arbor by its previous owner Dr. Eugene Leslie, who was active in the field of chemical engineering and was a professor at the University of Michigan. The property was the headquarters for much of his pioneering work and included fruit orchards.
Are there any impacts to animals housed at LSNC?
Please contact LSNC directly regarding specific program changes or questions about future impacts to animal programming or enclosures.
What remediation will the city do?
The city intends to work with partner agencies to develop a remediation plan that will allow the site to maintain its full range of uses and activities. That plan will be informed by subsequent rounds of soil testing that are now getting underway. The city's timeline is as soon as possible, but will ultimately be decided by the results of subsequent rounds of soil testing and in conjunction with partner agencies.
