Aug 31, 2007 12:22 pm US/Central
Arsenic Levels Close Baseball Fields Near Ford
St. Paul (WCCO) ―
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The fields will be shut down while the fields undergo further testing. (File)
CBS
Baseball fields near the Ford Assembly Plant in St. Paul are being shut down because of levels arsenic, copper and iron found beneath the fields.
Ford said they are "extremely low levels," but the amounts exceed recreational use levels accepted by the state of Minnesota.
The fields will be shut down while the fields undergo further testing. Ford does not believe it has a "health risk issue".
The community was being notified about the contamination Friday morning.
Ford stressed shutting down parts of a facility to do testing is not unusual and the company tests soil often.
Ford said Friday morning it did not know the source of the contamination, but said it will work very closely with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and will propose an action plan for the three ball fields.
One option for Fords is to move the fields. Ford said that may be a possibility, depending on what the additional testing finds.
Ford said the state recently lowered acceptable levels for arsenic, making recreational and residential standards more stringent.
The baseball fields have been in use since 1954.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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