Leddy Beach in Burlington reopened on Wednesday after being closed due to a chemical spill nearby three weeks ago.
Tests done last week show that the chemical styrene is no longer detected near Lake Champlain, according to Robert Goulding, spokesperson for Burlington’s Department of Public Works.
The spill occurred on Sept. 21 when a pipe-lining contractor accidentally discharged about one gallon of styrene mixed in with around 50 gallons of steam condensate into a storm drain. The drain leads into a stream which then flows to the lake. The beach was closed while water testing was done by the city.
The first tests to come back to the city after the spill showed “relatively high” levels of styrene, Goulding said. While he noted there is no established standard for levels of the carcinogenic chemical in water, it was out of caution that the beach was closed.
“Keeping the beach closed was the most prudent thing to do in the interest of public health,” Goulding said.
Various points in the stream were tested, Goulding said, and the most recent tests showed that everything approaching the lake was at “non-detectable” levels of styrene, but that levels were still elevated in a pool of water where the spill originated.
Goulding said while the beach is safe and is reopened to recreation, one sign will remain up by that part of the stream to notify the public of the continuing presence of styrene at that site.
— Patrick Crowley
