Experts to visit the formerly toxic South Park on field trip

Date Published: {J}

By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

South Park, which was closed to the public for almost two years when it was declared toxic will be visited by a group of experts this week as part of a conference field trip.

The focus of the visit will be environmental quality and human health – the public park in the Claddagh has been chosen following the discovery almost four years ago of metal contamination in the surface soil including arsenic and zinc.

The discovery of these metals was made by Dr Chaosheng Zhang, of NUI Galway’s Geography and Archaelogy and current chair of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health (SEGH), which is holding its annual conference in Galway this week.

The international conference and workshops will continue in the city until Friday and is being hosted by NUIG.

In 2006, Dr Zhang completed his extensive study of the soil at South Park and grew increasingly worried when he realized that his concerns about public safety went unheeded

Towards the end of 2006, Dr Zhang went public with his findings which subsequently led to Galway City Council closing it off to the public. Evenually some of the park was reopened but the playing pitch, used by city schools and football clubs, remained closed for almost two years.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.