Hope High School Field Dumped with Dozens of Barrels of Waste Marked “Cancer Causing” By City Vendor

Hope High School Field Dumped with Dozens of Barrels of Waste Marked “Cancer Causing” By City Vendor

The scene looks like an environmental contamination zone from the 1980s.

The areas adjacent to the tennis courts and fields at Hope High School in Providence are littered with dozens of 55-gallon barrels and other containers.

In the bushes are dozens of other containers. Most of the barrels and containers are marked with warning labels that the materials are “cancer causing” or “product not to be stored in direct sunlight.” 

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The barrels are not secured — haphazardly dumped, some without tops. On some of the containers, the tops can be easily removed. Others have liquid in them and do have tops.

Just beyond the tennis courts is the school's track, and there is a playground at the facility about 75 yards away -- all accessible to the public. 

Some of the littered containers are marked, “Keep out of reach of children.”

Some of the labels are marked acrylic — meaning water-based. But some of the other containers have labels which contain a laundry list of warnings. It is unclear by the labels if the materials are toxic.

Providence School officials did not respond to multiple outreaches about the situation. Providence Schools have been widely cited for mismanagement. Presently, the Providence schools are in the process of being taken over by the state. 

Vendor Awarded Contract in April

GoLocal searched through city documents on Friday night and found the vendor — the sole bidder for the $75,357 job to resurface the Hope High School tennis courts.

The company — who was awarded the contract by the Board of Contract & Supply — which is chaired by Mayor Jorge Elorza — is J.G. Coffey Company, LLC of Bristol, RI.

The contract was awarded on April 29, 2019. It is unclear why the project is still not completed -- Hope High School opens on Tuesday for the school year.

The company’s Neil Feeley, Jr. told GoLocal by email, “Everything is water based paint and nontoxic. Nothing is considered hazardous. The last day a crew was there they had to leave the site in a hurry as inclement weather arrived earlier than forecasted. Guys are there tomorrow to hopefully finish the painting, seal the drums and we should have the drums gone by early next week,”

“Thank you for bringing it to my attention as we don’t want to create a dangerous situation,” added Feeley.

According to RI Department of Environmental Management reached on Friday night, the Department will inspect the site on Saturday morning to determine if the materials are hazardous or toxic and to see the extent of the contamination. The situation could constitute a solid waste violation.