The Environmental Protection Agency alerted Garland ISD this week about lead being found near Park Crest Elementary, according to a district statement, a concern nearby residents have had for years.
The statement said Garland ISD was informed that several samples containing elevated levels of lead and one found to have a high level of arsenic were taken near a stream that flows into Duck Creek, outside of the school’s fence line.
“Park Crest students do not play or learn in that area,” the statement read.
The school has since expanded and reinforced perimeter fencing around the school to keep children from going into the areas in which the EPA found contamination.
The contamination is connected to the Globe-Union battery manufacturing plant, based on a September 2019 EPA report and an updated report from May.
Garland resident Don Phillips has been concerned about the effects of living near the plant at 1111 S. Shiloh Road, which manufactured lead acid batteries from the 1950s until 1995, according to the EPA. He has been organizing fellow community members since three years ago, when he started questioning whether whether a family member’s illness was related to being near the site.
In 2020, Phillips founded the group Cleanup Garland to organize residents to lobby for environmental policies and soil testing in the city and to file complaints with the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
He said he believes the EPA’s investigation and the district’s acknowledgement of the environmental hazard are just the tip of the iceberg.
“This is not even close to being over,” Phillips said.
In its statement, the district said it’s planning to hold staff and community presentations about the findings.
