The Trump administration dumped “a cocktail” of toxic waste on a public golf course, and damning tests reveal that the soil is poisoned.
The earth at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, where the administration deposited truckloads of debris from the demolition of the White House East Wing, has tested positive for lead, chromium, and other toxic metals, according to data released by the National Park Service.
The dump site sits near the Jefferson Memorial, where generations of Washingtonians have played golf at rates as low as $42 for 18 holes on weekdays.
The Interior Department insists the soil is safe. “The soil was tested multiple times by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law,” said spokeswoman Katie Martin. “This thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public.”
Scientists are less reassured, telling The New York Times that the contamination could be potentially dangerous. “There’s no safe level of exposure to lead; it’s one of the most toxic elements we know of,” said Joseph Allen, a professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard.
“One of the risks you have to think about with lead is that it doesn’t just stay outside in soil. We track it on our shoes. So, depending on where the soil was placed, golfers and other people could track it indoors.”
While none of the 30 initial soil samples exceeded EPA safe levels for lead at industrial and commercial sites, some surpassed the more stringent thresholds set by California regulators.
Several also exceeded normal background levels of chromium. Asbestos was not detected, though two samples were inadvertently never tested for it, and a third sample’s container broke in transit to the laboratory.
The D.C. Preservation League, which is suing over the dumping and fighting the broader takeover of the golf course, called the findings damning.
“We knew that the demolition of the East Wing and the changes to East Potomac were legally toxic; now we know they’re environmentally toxic as well,” said Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, which is representing the group.
In a legal filing, lawyers for the preservationist group wrote that the administration had “dumped a cocktail of contaminants—and despite indications of the refuse’s contents, they continued dumping it.”
The administration began dumping in October without public notice and, in December, moved to terminate a 50-year lease held by the nonprofit National Links Trust to manage the course.
A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order to halt construction and tree removal, but clearly warned the government.
“I do not want a situation where something has happened, and then I’m being told by the government or by a foundation or by a bulldozing company that it’s too late to do anything about it,” said Judge Ana Reyes of the Federal District Court in Washington.
Trump plans to transform the 105-year-old public course into a championship venue—a move that would also eliminate its existing mini-golf course and a surrounding roadway popular with cyclists and runners. Results from a second batch of 14 soil samples collected in late April are not yet available.
The White House and the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Park Service, were contacted for comment. An Interior spokesperson said that “Trump is fulfilling his commitment to make D.C. Safe and Beautiful.”
“DOI and NPS are committed to continuing the relationships we have built with the local golf communities to ensure these courses are safe, beautiful, open, affordable, enjoyable, accessible, and world-class for people living in and visiting the greatest capital city in the world,” the statement went on.
