Local

Cleanup begins at elementary school next to Superfund site

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — State contractors began cleaning up arsenic contamination at Susie E. Tolbert Elementary School on Monday.

“I wish they could have done something about this a long time ago,” said Serteria Roberts, a neighbor whose children used to attend the school.

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

The Environmental Protection Agency said that 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.

The property and surrounding area was never fully cleaned up, and the EPA found arsenic at the eastern boundary of the school during follow-up testing this year.

That prompted the Department of Environmental Protection to step in.

The goal is to finish this portion of the cleanup before school begins in the fall.

For years, residents have claimed the contamination has made them sick and in some cases, even caused cancer.

Since the emergency cleanup, the EPA has maintained that the contamination in and around the site does not pose an “imminent threat” to the public.