An environmental report examining a Jackson Street property the Columbus parks department wants to purchase for storage showed little contamination and ruled out the presence of asbestos.
The parks department sought a Phase II environmental assessment from Indianapolis-based Ark Engineering Services late last year after local resident Ken Fudge expressed concern that the building might contain PCBs, widely considered a cancer-causing carcinogen.
The first environmental assessment from the engineering services company stated “potential PCB concerns do not appear to be present” at the building.
As for the Phase II assessment, there are about 200 pages in that report, Jones said. And since it has just recently arrived, both city administrators and parks officials need more time to review the contents, the parks director said.
However, Jones told board members he can confirm that no asbestos was found in the building. And while multiple swipes were also made to check for possible soil and water contamination at the property, all tests “came back fine,” he said.
Although one unidentified substance of interest has been discovered on the property, “it doesn’t look to be very bad at all,” Jones told the parks board Thursday.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
