Dirt that the Trump administration dumped on a Washington golf course after removing it from the White House’s East Wing demolition site tested positive for toxic elements like lead, chromium and arsenic, according to new data commissioned by the National Park Service.
The agency published last week the results of a first batch of soil samples collected between late October and early April.
Dozens of chemicals were detected above background levels, according to soil sampling data by Jacobs Engineering Group taken from the stockpile of dirt. The company had the soil analyzed for a suite of potential public health concerns, including volatile organic compounds, asbestos, pesticides and select heavy metals. A handful of compounds, including arsenic and lead, were detected at levels that could pose a risk to human health.
The data sheds light on the composition of a pile of dirt that’s become an unexpected sticking point in a larger dispute over the Trump administration decision last year to tear down the East Wing to make room for a 90,000-square-foot ballroom. Last year, the administration dumped excavated soil from the White House grounds at the East Potomac Golf Links, which is owned by the National Park Service.
