Residents are voicing their concerns after soil at a Miami Beach park tested for high levels of arsenic.
The land at Prairie Avenue and W. 28th Street was a a golf course and it's supposed to be a park. But right now it looks more like a landfill, with bulldozers and piles of dirt. Dirt that has some bad chemicals.
Residents of the upscale Miami Beach neighborhood have had a dirty problem right in their own backyard. These piles of dirt and loud bulldozers have been an eyesore for months. But last month the problem shifted from cosmetic to concerning.
A county agency tested the soil and debris and found a number of alarming chemicals, specifically arsenic levels. They were four times the safety standard.
Despite the unusually high levels of arsenic, the city says it's not as dangerous as it appears. You can actually touch it and be ok. They actually say to really get sick you have to eat a spoon full of dirt every day for 30 years.
Residents are blasting the city for not testing the dirt before dumping it in their neighborhood and for not being transparent. But the city says it's on top of the situation.
