Arsenic contamination found in soil for proposed Radnor Trail extension
RADNOR » Plans to extend the Radnor Trail along an old railroad bed hit a snag after arsenic was found in the soil. Now township officials have to figure out how extensive the contamination is and what to do with it — leave it in place and monitor it in perpetuity, or remove it.
“As part of the trail, we had to do testing, and we found arsenic,” said Steve Norcini, township engineer. “The purpose of this is to determine the horizontal and vertical limits of the arsenic.”
The contamination was found along an unused railroad bed across Radnor Chester Road near the endpoint of the current Radnor Trail.
The township has considered using the old railroad to extend the existing trail for the past several years.
Due to the contamination, the Radnor Board of Commissioners this week approved a motion to spend $55,480 to test the soil to determine the extent of the contamination.
But the issue for some of the commissioners was how arsenic got into the dirt.
Norcini said the trail would be located in an old railroad bed from the early 20th century.
“It’s not uncommon to find arsenic in certain areas, so we did find it. This is a next-level step for construction of the trail,” Norcini said.
According to Norcini, the township could either cap the contaminated dirt and leave it in place or remove it and put in new dirt. Leaving it would mean it would still be in the soil.
The area would have to be graded in a way to contain the arsenic, and it would require the township have it tested forever.
“If we remove it, it’s a one-time cost. It is out the area is safe, and we can grade and construct a trail to the proposed grades,” Norcini said.
Norcini said the money authorized by the board this week was only to find out the extent of the arsenic. If and when the trial is constructed, removing the arsenic would be part of that future contract.
According to township documents for the meeting, the township was awarded a grant for remediation for $407,454. Current estimates for the remediation are $235,000 — 535,000, depending on the amount of soil that needs to be removed.