Highland Park - Procedures & Practices to Reduce Exposure and Risk to Humans Who May Contact Soils Containing Pesticides
1 Soil Management Procedures during Construction
Soil management procedures were developed to minimize exposure to pesticides in soil during excavation for a temporary parking lot on the golf course property. The overall plan calls for the removal of up to two feet of topsoil, with the stockpiling of soil as shown on the attached Topsoil Storage Plan. Following removal of the topsoil, gravel sub base will be added and the area will be paved.
To ensure that construction workers will not be exposed to unsafe levels of pesticides in soil, potential risks were evaluated using MassDEP’s risk assessment “Short Forms”. The Short Forms are a series of spreadsheets developed by MassDEP that evaluate risk for a variety of exposure scenarios and contaminants. For this project, the “Construction Worker” Short Form was used, which is appropriate given the type work and the duration of the project. Two types of risk are estimated by the Short Form – cancer risk (known as the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk or “ELCR”) and non-cancer risk (expressed as the Hazard Index or “HI”). The MCP and MassDEP consider risks to be not significant when the ELCR is less than one in one hundred thousand (10-5) and the HI is less than 1. As shown on the attached Short Form, both of these criteria are met, meaning that construction workers do not need to take additional precautions when working with soil within the temporary parking area. However, to further reduce risk and any concerns, it is recommended that water be sprayed on loose soil if dust becomes a concern during windy days, and that work gloves be worn when workers are directly contacting soil.
2 Soil Storage Procedures
As we understand it, soil removed for the temporary parking area will be stored on the golf course property, adjacent to the parking area, for about three years. The following procedures for soil storage are recommended:
3 Soil Reuse Procedures
Following completion of the new High School, it is understood that all or a portion of the temporary parking area will be removed. This work will entail removal of asphalt and sub base, with transportation to a suitable recycling facility. The disturbed area will be restored using soil from the soil stockpile. If excess soil is available, a revised Grading Plan will be developed to reuse those soils in the immediate vicinity. The soil reuse procedures include the following elements:
Soil management procedures were developed to minimize exposure to pesticides in soil during excavation for a temporary parking lot on the golf course property. The overall plan calls for the removal of up to two feet of topsoil, with the stockpiling of soil as shown on the attached Topsoil Storage Plan. Following removal of the topsoil, gravel sub base will be added and the area will be paved.
To ensure that construction workers will not be exposed to unsafe levels of pesticides in soil, potential risks were evaluated using MassDEP’s risk assessment “Short Forms”. The Short Forms are a series of spreadsheets developed by MassDEP that evaluate risk for a variety of exposure scenarios and contaminants. For this project, the “Construction Worker” Short Form was used, which is appropriate given the type work and the duration of the project. Two types of risk are estimated by the Short Form – cancer risk (known as the Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk or “ELCR”) and non-cancer risk (expressed as the Hazard Index or “HI”). The MCP and MassDEP consider risks to be not significant when the ELCR is less than one in one hundred thousand (10-5) and the HI is less than 1. As shown on the attached Short Form, both of these criteria are met, meaning that construction workers do not need to take additional precautions when working with soil within the temporary parking area. However, to further reduce risk and any concerns, it is recommended that water be sprayed on loose soil if dust becomes a concern during windy days, and that work gloves be worn when workers are directly contacting soil.
2 Soil Storage Procedures
As we understand it, soil removed for the temporary parking area will be stored on the golf course property, adjacent to the parking area, for about three years. The following procedures for soil storage are recommended:
- Place soil in the designated stockpile area(s), and maintain stockpile slopes in accordance with the attached Topsoil Storage Plan.
- Use water spray as appropriate to minimize dust during stockpiling, until control measures are in place.
- Use hydroseeding or other methods to apply vegetative seeding, and cover soil piles with suitable erosion control materials as soon as all soil has been placed. Erosion control materials may include products such as Coir Mat 40 (https://www.erosioncontrol-products.com/erosioncontrolmats.html) or similar products that will stabilize soil while vegetation is being established. It is recommended that such measures be made of biodegradable materials (i.e., no plastic-based geofabrics or other non-degradable products).
3 Soil Reuse Procedures
Following completion of the new High School, it is understood that all or a portion of the temporary parking area will be removed. This work will entail removal of asphalt and sub base, with transportation to a suitable recycling facility. The disturbed area will be restored using soil from the soil stockpile. If excess soil is available, a revised Grading Plan will be developed to reuse those soils in the immediate vicinity. The soil reuse procedures include the following elements:
- Utilize soil management procedures as outlined in Section 2 above when removing soil from the stockpile and placing soil in the Reuse Area (i.e., water spraying as appropriate to minimize dust generation, and use of work gloves when contacting soil).
- Once stockpiled soil is placed, cover with several inches of clean loam from an outside source.
- Hydroseed and protect area from foot traffic until new vegetation is completely established.