Residents Turn Toxic Site Into Zonolite Park

An area that was once an asbestos-poisoned wetland is now a new park in the Emory University area just south of North Druid Hills thanks to local volunteers, incuding the South Fork Conservancy.

Local reporter Ben Smith penned a great story published Monday on the Saporta Report detailing the project.

From the story:

Zonolite Park is 12 acres near Briarcliff and Clifton Roads, where the South Fork of Peachtree Creek parallels railroad tracks. For two decades beginning in 1950, freight trains stopped at the W.R. Grace Co. plant and dumped as much as 1,225 tons of raw material for attic insulation marketed as Zonolite. Grace was an important business in DeKalb County, and the street where the plant was located was named Zonolite Road.

But Zonolite’s raw material carried natural asbestos fibers, and the Montana mine where it was dug ended up the target of a massive EPA investigation.

Check out the full story for more details.

Also, the conservancy has plans to do a great deal of work in the North Druid Hills area. See their website for more information.