People of Butler's South Side are justified in their concerns and anxiety over high levels of arsenic found in soil in the area that formerly housed the Franklin Glass Co. plant.

The same can be said for those who, over the years, lived in the 52 units of the former Kaufman Drive Apartments and who since have moved elsewhere.

Those people — as many as can be located — have a right to know about the arsenic situation that has surfaced, due to the possible health implications of the very poisonous chemical element.

Arsenic was used by Franklin Glass to remove bubbles from molten glass.

Likewise, the high levels of arsenic found by the state Department of Environmental Protection last month in what was supposed to be a routine inspection leading up to grant-ing of permits for a proposed trail bridge, is justifiably a source of concern to the men and women who in their youth played on the former glass plant site, which now is Father Marinaro Park, or participated in athletic events at the Butler Junior High School track and playing fields, where a Franklin Glass waste lagoon once was situated.

The Center Avenue Elementary School, Butler Arbors high-rise apartment building that is home to many senior citizens, and a small Lighthouse Foundation complex for single-parent families also are near or on the former plant site.

And the arsenic finding no doubt has alarmed many of the people who now live in the Franklin Court Apartments, as the Kaufman Drive Apartments now are called.

Three additional Franklin Glass waste lagoons were in close proximity to what eventually became the Franklin Court complex — across the street in what now is woods.

Franklin Court is operated by the Housing Authority of Butler County, which bought the then-rundown complex known as the Kaufman Drive Apartments four years ago from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Some of the original units were razed; others are being renovated.

Long-term exposure to arsenic has been linked to cancer. According to an article in Thursday's Butler Eagle, inhalation of arsenic can lead to lung cancer. If swallowed, cancer could develop in the bladder, kidneys, liver and lungs.

Arsenic and its compounds are toxic to animals.

If further studies confirm the initial indications — or indicate an even bigger problem than currently envisioned — it would be reasonable for health officials to want to survey people who have lived — or who still are living — in the area in question about the health issues they have encountered.

Meanwhile, there also is the reasonable question of why a Phase I environmental study four years ago did not produce any arsenic concerns regarding the area where the apartment complex stands. That study reportedly included soil testing.

"That test showed nothing wrong with the soil," said Perry O'Malley, housing authority executive director.

However, one of the soil samples taken by DEP from the apartment complex in April registered about 100 parts per million (ppm), about 88 ppm more than allowed by residential standards. Most soil samples taken from the apartment complex checked out at between 50 ppm and 100 ppm.

The acceptable level of industrial exposure to arsenic is 53 ppm.

The worst sample collected initially by DEP during its work tied to the bridge permits application was 1,800 ppm. It came from the banks of Coal Run, the creek over which the proposed bridge was to be installed to complement the Buffalo-Freeport Rails-to-Trails project.

Understandable uncertainty now hangs over where the bridge eventually will be built.

Testing for arsenic wasn't conducted in 1955, the year that Franklin Glass closed. Nor were such tests conducted in the early 1970s when remains of the glass plant structures were cleared following a July 5, 1972, fire at the site.

Such tests were not required by any government agency or organization.

Now the county is facing its second major industrial contamination case this decade, the first one being the water well contamination in the Petrolia area.

In the coming weeks, there will be many questions asked by people who might have been exposed to the Franklin Glass contamination over the years. Officials should strive to answer them and must not prolong release of study findings.

Understandably, DEP is not in the business of wanting to create hysteria, but the facts, whether good or bad, must be made known.

In a news release May 5, DEP stressed that it was just beginning an analysis and study of the environmental conditions that exist in the Kaufman Drive area. A public meeting was held by DEP May 6 to apprise area residents of the situation and answer questions.

It will be a decision for parents as to whether they want their children participating in activities at the park, given the uncertainty over the extent of the problem. As of last Wednesday's public meeting, no testing of the soil at Father Marinaro had been done, but DEP representatives at the meeting said such testing would be a priority.

The investigation is being conducted through the state's Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program, but whether the arsenic problem produces any unwanted local-level financial obligations will be among the things that will have to be sorted out later.

For now, the issue is how big of a problem really exists, including how far-reaching the health implications might be. The city and its people have a right to know all there is to know about what occurred in the past and what lies ahead.

DEP was quick to meet with the public last week. It must continue that approach as more information emerges.

Meanwhile, people here must commit themselves to patience while the scientific analyses are under way.