A sign near the entrance to the RiverWalk in Pittston prohibits access to the property in this photo from January. The town’s Select Board voted in October 2023 to temporarily close the area after a leaky drum containing oil was found there. It was reopened to foot traffic in April. A state report shows the presence of arsenic and other potentially harmful chemicals at the RiverWalk, but officials say the levels pose a low risk. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

PITTSTON — Arsenic was found in the soil and groundwater at Pittston’s RiverWalk, including in high levels in one area, but there is no reason to worry, officials say.

The Pittston Select Board asked the Department of Environmental Protection to complete a report on the town’s 61-acre RiverWalk property, which has a history as a gravel pit, after volunteers cleaning up the area in August 2023 found a drum that had leaked a substance that was later determined to be oil.

As a result of the leak, the Select Board voted to close the RiverWalk in October 2023. It reopened to foot traffic in April.

“(The DEP) did find arsenic in the southwest area of the RiverWalk. It could be naturally occurring, but the level isn’t worth worrying about,” said Jean Ambrose, a former member of the Pittston Select Board. As the co-chair of the town’s RiverWalk Committee, Ambrose shared the report’s results with elected officials Dec. 4.

Pittston residents have asked the board to consider opening the property to hunting, but elected officials say they will only allow foot traffic until a policy can be developed around safety expectations with hunting and all-terrain vehicles.

The RiverWalk Committee also sought input from residents asking if they want to invest town funds into the property. Ambrose said at the Dec. 11 Select Board meeting that the committee received answers from 131 households, with most respondents saying they did not want to put tax money into the property, but favored securing a grant to take care of the RiverWalk.

The report was funded through a grant with the DEP’s Brownfields Program, said David Madore, spokesperson for the DEP, which tested the area to make sure it’s safe for public health and then helped clean up possible harmful chemicals. The drum in question and 25 tons of contaminated soil were disposed of, as was a transit pipe that contained asbestos.

Most of the samples tested for arsenic were below the statewide limit of 28 milligrams, which is the naturally occurring limit, Madore said.

Samples were taken from soil and groundwater in several areas across the property.

“We found no widespread elevated arsenic concentrations and think it poses a low risk; however, one location had raised levels over that threshold, at 42 mg,” Madore said. 

A January photo shows a sign on a cable blocking the entrance to the RiverWalk in Pittston. The site was reopened to foot traffic in April. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

DEP officials recommended the town complete a Voluntary Response Action Program application for liability purposes if the property is ever sold, and remove all tires, scrap metal and trash. The program allows applicants to voluntarily clean up properties to the department’s satisfaction in exchange for protections from enforcement actions, according to the DEP’s website.

According to the report, testing soil and groundwater samples on the property found volatile organic compounds, which are usually from chemicals used in the manufacturing of paint and pharmaceuticals; volatile petroleum hydrocarbon and extractible petroleum hydrocarbon, from fuel or oil; semivolatile organic compounds, which can turn into a gas or vapor and affect air quality; polychlorinated biphenyls, a group of toxic chemicals that can turn into a waxy or oil-based substance; and several types of metals.

Selectman Joe Caputo made note of a few traces of lead found in the soil, which can affect any workers drilling or working in the soil.

“If (lead) is in the soil, the dirt can’t leave the site,” he said.

Ambrose said the RiverWalk Committee will meet in the first week of January to determine how to move forward with the results from the survey.