Contaminated Soil Found At Sixth Miami Park

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Contaminated soil has turned up at yet another Miami park.

City officials confirmed that tests showed that the same toxic chemicals detected in five other parks were found in Curtis Park, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald.

The park, just north of the Miami River, is home to the police athletic league's Miami Jets. The city decided not to close it because much of the sprawling complex complete with basketball courts, baseball fields, football fields and a track is covered in artificial turf, concrete or rubber track.

The park sits just a few blocks from the site of Miami's old 20th Street incinerator, according to the paper, which the county shut down after it was found to violate the pollution control rules in 1975.

At least three Miami parks, where contaminated soil was found, Blanche, Merrie Christmas and Douglas Park were once used to dump incinerator ash, Assistant City Manager Alice Bravo told the paper.

While there are no records that ash was ever taken to Curtis Park, according to Bravo, records show that land between the river and the park was gradually filled in over the years. It's not clear whether that fill occurred naturally from silting, or from manmade dumping.

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