Arsenic-tainted sand stored at Miami Beach park moved back to condo construction site

Sand to be temporarily stored until roadway project usage

Homeowners in Miami Beach are worried after tests showed high levels of arsenic in the sand in one neighborhood.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. ā€“ Several small mountains of arsenic-tainted sand stored at a Miami Beach park site is now being moved back to the luxury condominium construction site from where it came.

The developer, Faena, is paying for the re-transport, according to a spokesman for Miami Beach administration.

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City officials had agreed to take the developer's spoils as a source of free fill for the park renovation project in a neighborhood west of the beachside development on 34th Street and Collins Avenue. Some of the sand also came from a state Department of Transportation project.

But after homeowners near the park complained about foul odors and dump truck traffic, environmental testing revealed the presence of arsenic in the sand -- about four times acceptable levels.

Miami-Dade County environmental staff approved the Faena construction site for temporary storage of the tainted sand until it can be reused as fill in a roadway project.

Environmental workers said the arsenic does not pose a danger to the public unless ingested in significant quantities.

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Glenna Milberg joined Local 10 News in September 1999 to report on South Florida's top stories and community issues. She also serves as co-host on Local 10's public affairs broadcast, "This Week in South Florida."