Edison school field being tested for contamination

The normally busy athletic field at Thomas Edison vocational school is deserted. This after the Rochester City Schools District ordered the testing of soil samples to make sure the ground here is not contaminated.

“I called the city school district and the health department and collectively together we went out and we took samples of the soil at the field,” said Willie Sanders.

Sanders is president of the Edison parents group and the parent of a Edison student athlete. He called for the testing after broken glass and rocks were unearthed on the field last week.

“What we just want to make sure is that the area is safe for our kids and the last time it was inspected or something was done we have no idea maybe about ten years ago,” said Sanders.

Sanders also knew the school was built on a landfill. City officials broke ground for the school back in 1977 on land that was once the old Emerson landfill.

“The landfill is under the fields and the school is on bedrock so the school is not an issue,” said Acting Rochester Schools Superintendent Dr. William Cala.

Dr. William Cala says the school was built to meet strict environmental safety guidelines. Still, he says the tests are being done as a precaution. “There is a history with the location of that field being on a landfill and we want to make sure that that is not surfacing of landfill versus the inadvertent mixing of glass,” said Dr. Cala.

Dr. Cala says the results from two of five samples have come in negative, showing no contamination. The rest of the results should be in the end of the week.