The Detroit News has posted a special report regarding toxic vapors in the air near polluted sites across Michigan, and Little Caesars Arena’s construction almost made the list for a simple reason:
When you excavate tons and tons of soil to put the rink below ground level in Detroit, you’re dealing with thousands of tons of contaminated soil. Thankfully, the Detroit News’s Michael Gerstein reports that the Wings’ new rink was built in a manner that properly disposed of the polluted soil:
An environmental assessment submitted to the state in 2014 showed that several “polynuclear aromatics, metals and petroleum-related volatile organic compounds” were found at levels higher than they should be in soil samples, said Michigan Department of Environmental Quality spokeswoman Tiffany Brown.
The company removed the polluted soil, which is common at large construction projects in cities, said Brett McWethy, a spokesman for Olympia Entertainment Inc.
“As is common with such large-scale, urban projects, construction included the comprehensive removal of existing fill from the property,” McWethy said. “This process was fully documented in previous filings with the Department of Environmental Quality, and the successful removal and remediation was certified by thorough lab testing, which was also submitted and verified by DEQ.”
The state DEQ took the arena project off of its list after the contaminated soil was removed.
