Garland ISD is addressing the safety of Park Crest Elementary after a potential environmental hazard was discovered near the school.
The potential hazard was related to the Globe-Union battery manufacturing plant, located at 1111 South Shiloh Road, Garland ISD said.
According to Garland ISD, the presence of the potential hazard was based on an Environmental Protection Agency preliminary assessment completed in September 2019 and an updated report completed in May 2021.
Garland ISD said no specific source of contamination was implied by either report, though elevated levels of lead were identified in surrounding areas near the banks of Duck Creek on the outside of the fence line for Park Crest Elementary.
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Park Crest students do not play or learn in that area, the school district said.
The district said it immediately initiated expanded external environmental impact studies for all adjacent Garland ISD property, including soil samples from Park Crest Elementary.
Park Crest Elementary is about a mile from the battery factory.
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Those reports did not show any unsafe levels of contamination with the fence lines around Park Crest Elementary, and no other campuses were impacted.
As part of the district's response to the findings, Garland ISD said it expanded and reinforced the perimeter fencing around the campus in an effort to prevent children from venturing into the areas that the reports identified as being contaminated.
Garland ISD said district officials have not received information from any parent about their child being treated for lead exposure and have no reason to believe that any students or staff have been exposed to lead while at Park Crest Elementary.
The Environmental Protection Agency has established a response site that provides information on the Globe-Union cleanup.
