Durham City Council to discuss lead in parks issue as closures extend into new year

At the start of 2024, some Durham families still can't use parts of their public parks because of lead issues.

Posted 11:42 p.m. Jan 2 — Updated 11:42 p.m. Jan 2

Monica Casey

, WRAL Durham reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — At the start of 2024, some Durham families still can't use parts of their public parks because of lead issues.

Five Durham parks have portions that remain closed after lead was found in the soil. The closed areas have been fenced off since August 2023.

In December of 2022, a report from Duke student Enikoe Bihari concluded there were mineral soil concentrations of lead in some areas of East End Park, East Durham Park and Walltown Park. Lead is suspected at Northgate Park and Lyon Park.

On Tuesday, the fencing was still up at Northgate Park about five months after it was installed.

Tuesday, Durham City Council will discuss the testing that was done here and at four other parks. That testing turned out to be more extensive than first planned in the original contract.

That includes a historical review of each park, testing for other hazardous metals and extra evaluation of playgrounds.

"We love this neighborhood," said Angie, who wished to only share her first name. "We've been here for 36 years. We raised our boys here. We love the park. If it wasn't for this park, I probably wouldn't still be here because I can walk my stress away."

Angie is a longtime Durham resident and frequently visits the Northgate Park area. She believes the city has done a good job identifying areas that are an issue.

"It seems to me as that as long as we keep it, don't dig it up," Angie said. "That's my concern, is digging the lead up. I don't know what they plan to do. That seems more dangerous than leaving it alone to me."

All five of the city parks with lead qualified for the state's pre-regulatory landfill program.

That program offers resources and funding options to fix the issue.

State representatives are doing more testing and conducting research to help prioritize the different parks in Durham and around North Carolina.

They are scored based on different factors, such as the proximity of water wells, residential buildings and the size of a landfill.

The work plans sent to WRAL from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) show dozens of samples will be taken from the different parks, with the most coming from Northgate, an estimated 146 samples for testing.

After NCDEQ sorts out which parks will be prioritized, they will host in person conversations to share where each park is ranked and what that means for short and long-term solutions.

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