Solo Street Greenspace

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 is conducting a Removal Site Evaluation at the Solo Street Greenspace site at 2020 Solo Street, Houston, Harris County, Texas. During an investigation initially conducted for the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR)/Kashmere Gardens site, sampling results showed levels of dioxin/furans above EPA screening levels. During the Removal Site Evaluation, EPA will gather data to investigate the nature and extent of the contamination. The investigation will help determine whether dioxin/furan contaminated soil from the site presents a potential threat to public health and the environment.

The Solo Street Greenspace Site is located at 2020 Solo Street, Houston, Harris County, Texas. It is commonly known as the Julia C. Hester House Community Center. The property is owned by Julia Hester House Inc. The study area is composed of publicly accessible greenspace east of the Julia Hester House Community Center, north of the Head Start School, west of Boyce-Dorian Park, and south of the Julia Hester House Recreation Center Building.

EPA developed a sampling strategy to collect data to complete the RSE. Soil samples will be collected from 16 grids using a 50-by-50-foot grid system, which was plotted using Visual Sampling Plan (VSP) program. VSP is a standard EPA geospatial assessment tool that generates preliminary sampling grids with a 95% confidence interval for the probability of accurately representing the level of contamination across the defined boundary of the site.

Approximately 57 soil samples (including 5 QA/Quality Control [QC] duplicate samples) will be collected to a depth not exceeding 12-inches below ground surface (bgs). Five-point composite samples will be collected from the following depth intervals: 0 to 2-inches, 2 to 6 inches and 6 to 12 inches. Soil samples will be composited per depth interval from the five aliquots within each grid.

For example, the 2-to-6-inch depth sample taken from each of the five sample aliquots will be placed in a 1-gallon bag, thoroughly homogenized, and placed in the appropriate sample containers.

Use the “+” button at the bottom-right of the map to zoom in and the “−” button to zoom out. Zooming in will reveal detailed labels for the site features and improve label legibility.

The information from the RSE will help determine whether dioxin/furan contaminated soil from the Site presents a potential threat to public health.

Read about dioxin chemical group information below to learn what it is, how it is used, how it travels, how to know if you have been exposed, and how to reduce the risk of exposure. PDF Version available  here .

(Source: The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry [ATSDR])