Berkeley Skateboarding Park Closes Because of Pollutant
Charles Burress, San Francisco Chronicle, page A13 January 4, 2003

A popular Berkeley skateboarding park rated the best in the Bay Area has been closed because hexavalent chromium -- the pollutant made infamous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" -- was found leaking into it.

The opening of the long-planned park on Sept. 14 had already been delayed several months by the fall 2000 discovery of the dangerous chemical at the site which forced  a major City officials say the health risk is very low and that the closure is temporary, but they are not sure when it can reopen. Parallel investigations are under way into the risk of exposure for park users and the cause of the leak, said Lisa Caronna, director of the city's Parks, Recreation and Waterfront Department. "We're taking an overly cautious step," Caronna said of the closure, which came Dec. 27 after only 15 weeks of operation.

A small amount of tan-color contaminated water -- about three cafe lattes worth -- was found to have leaked through construction joints into the bottom of the deeper bowls at the 18,000square-foot concrete facility, Caronna said.

The concentration of the chemical was 120 parts per billion in one bowl and 320 parts in another, only about one-tenth the concentration found when the chemical was detected earlier at the site, she said. State standards for drinking water permit 50 parts per billion, she said. A toxicologist consulted by the city said there was no risk to those who jumped the fence arid skated through the liquid, Caronna said.

A member of the citizen Community Environmental Advisory Commission, L A Wood, criticized the city for persisting in its plans for the park in a contaminated light-industrial area.

The park is at Fifth and Harrison streets near Interstate 80 in west Berkeley. The chemical, also known as chromium six, was traced to the nearby operations of Western Roto Engravers Colortech.

"When you start down a road and the first decision you make in the wrong one, then every subsequent decision seems to compound itself," Wood said. Word of the closure has been slow to leak out, and skateboarders continue to migrate to the park.

"It really sucks," said Eric Langevin, 28, a Berkeley resident who stood forlornly with his skateboard under his arm Friday as he read the sign saying, "Caution: This site contains polluted water. Stay out!"