Park Tainted by Lead from Roy Rogers' Days May Reopen

Chatsworth Park South, which is contaminated with toxic lead, has been fenced behind chain-link since Valentine's Day 2008, but that could soon change.

Without offering an exact date for reopening the park,  John S. Lee, chief legislative deputy for Councilman Greig Smith, said city officials are going to "try to open up part of the park, such as the recreation center."

An environmental report is due in the next four to six weeks.

Decades ago, movie and TV cowboy star Roy Rogers fired buckshot on the land, which he owned and used for a skeet and trap shooting range. Since the closing of the park,  experts have been conducting tests to determine the extent of the contamination from toxic lead fragments found in the soil.

Lead can impair numerous body systems after a person has been exposed anywhere from a short to long duration. Adults may suffer severe damage to their blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems from chronic overexposure. Children may also experience severe long-term effects: learning disabilities, decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, and even brain damage are all possible from lead exposure, according to Washington's Department of Ecology.

The California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) was notified of the potential contamination. "When we get a complaint, we send an investigator to the site," said Jeanne Garcia, public information officer. In September 2008 a  Voluntary Cleanup Agreement for the park was signed by the DTSC, and cleanup surveys begun.

One possible cleanup method officials have suggested would involve stripping off the top six inches of the park's contaminated soil.

Paul Davis, an environmental specialist with the city's Department of Recreation and Parks, confirms that there is contamination present. But while experts are close to determining the extent of the contamination, "the report has not been finalized yet. Once that's done, it will show us what needs to be done [and help us] identify a cleanup method ... [possibly one that] allows us to clean the soil directly on site."

Davis expects the report to be available in the next four to six weeks. Matt Myerhoff, communications director for Councilman Smith, said the cost of the project will be determined "after the testing. The state mandates the cleanup and the city will have to pay for some of it."

The good news is that the area's historic Homestead Acre at the park entrance was deemed safe, and the Virginia Watson Chatsworth Museum and Minnie Hill-Palmer Cottage are open to the public.

Residents Question Safety Measures

But some residents who live adjacent to the park disagree that closing the park was necessary. "I used to have Tonka trucks with lead in them," said Jeannie Slitzky, who lives adjacent to the park. "All of my toys had lead; I'm still alive. The lead back then isn't like the lead now."

Not so, said Prof. Peter Bellin, a California State University, Northridge,  environmental expert. "Lead is lead," he said. "It has not changed. Lead in paint is in the form of a pigment and rust inhibitor; that also has not changed."

And the history of its presence in children's toys is more harmful than one might expect. "Lead is a toxin, and it can affect children's health–but only to the extent that it is absorbed. There is clear evidence that lead paint on toys, furniture, walls, etc. have impacted children's health, often quite severely. As an analogy, a person could point out that they have smoked cigarettes for any number of years, but are still around. That does not negate the impact of smoking on health."

Other residents point to the problems the closing has caused. As she gestured to indicate the straw-like grass she said was once green, park neighbor Beth Wynn said sharply, "They've turned off the water. It's a fire hazard." But beyond that, Wynn simply misses the way things were before the park was closed.

"It's been really sad," Wynn said. "People used to come in and barbecue, and you just don't see that anymore. There are just a lot of things that used to go on that don't happen anymore."

But word that parts of the park could be opened is welcomed by residents such as Frank Marin, who wishes he could "walk back [into the park again]," he said. "I'd love to be able to."