Among several popular recreation spots in the Triangle - sand volleyball courts, baseball diamonds and playgrounds - potentially hazardous chemicals and substances sit underneath the ground.
After five Durham parks were partially shut down after lead was detected in the soil because they were built on top of old landfills, WRAL Investigates wondered what else is under the surface of areas where people play.
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Our team went through state records of pre-regulatory landfills that are now shut down. There are hundreds of them all across the state. We found many are now covered by playgrounds, businesses, childcare centers and more. And most haven't been given the all the clear by state regulators.
"I had no idea," Raleigh resident Carey Ball told us about the history of Jaycee Park in Raleigh. "It's disconcerting," he added.
To those who live near or play at Jaycee Park, there's no way to tell that in the eyes of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the site is known as Old Raleigh Landfill No. 5.
"There's no signage, there's no information. There's no way you would know," Ball told us. Jaycee Park is one of 33 old landfills in Wake County alone. There's also an old Department of Agriculture landfill at the Hunt Horse Complex on the State Fairgrounds. It's one of the few sites statewide that's been completely cleaned and given the all-clear. Yet, there's signage out there telling people what the land used to be.
We found there are 666 old landfill sites across the state. The database of documents for some sites dates back decades. We're talking about testing or simply reminding cities and counties that the old landfill sites are eligible for Superfund money to clean them up. However, only 36 - that's one in 20 - are listed as "No Further Action needed." Twenty four are in what's called remediation, like Jaycee Park, which means the area's been cleaned, but testing continues. The other 606 are listed as "activity pending" or "under investigation."
For Ball, visits to Jaycee Park with his daughter have been part of his daily routine.
"Probably three or four times a week, honestly. I've got a little kid. She loves running around here. It's a beautiful park," Ball said.
He had no idea Jaycee Park was in remediation. He also didn't know what inspectors recently found between 6 and 18 inches below the soil. Documents show testers took dozens of samples all across the park. Almost all of them showed arsenic levels higher than the residential standard. Even more worrisome, several had arsenic levels 3, 4 even 5 times higher than commercial standards.
"My kid plays on that old playground. I had no idea until you told me. I’m truly shocked. That actually makes me a little uncomfortable," Ball told us.
A draft document filed this year by the city of Raleigh deemed the land safe for playgrounds, parks, recreational areas and athletics. However, child and adult care centers, homes or schools would need state approval. The documents also lists other activities that aren't allowed now or in the future if the city sells the land. Those activities include bicycle riding, farming, gardening and kennels, even though there's a dog park feet from the landfill boundary.
That's worrisome to those who enjoy the park now, when asked by WRAL Investigates' producer.
Balls said knowing the park's past is making him think twice about spending the day there with his daughter and he plans to share the information.
"Yes, yes and I’m going to tell the wife and tell my other parent friends," he said.