Soil at a public golf course in Washington where the Trump administration dumped 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 data, which the Park Service published on its website last week, showed relatively low levels of these contaminants in the soil at East Potomac Golf Links.
Yet the dump raised questions about the decision by the Trump administration to bypass environmental laws when it dropped truckloads of mud, rebar, plaster and other debris in the middle of the popular public course near the Jefferson Memorial.
The president is planning a sweeping overhaul of the 105-year-old golf course, where generations have played in view of monuments and memorials at bargain rates that currently run $42 for 18 holes on weekdays. Mr. Trump wants to transform it into a championship course, which would likely spell the end to an existing mini-golf course as well as a surrounding roadway that is popular with cyclists and runners.
The soil test results have provided ammunition for the preservationist group that is suing over the dumping of debris and that is also fighting the broader takeover of the golf course. In its lawsuit, the nonprofit DC Preservation League argued that the dumping was unlawful and possibly hazardous to golfers, community members and wildlife.
“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, the executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund. It is representing the DC Preservation League and two area residents in the case, as are Democracy Forward and Lowell & Associates.
Katie Martin, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, which includes the National Park Service, said in an email that the soil was safe.
“The soil was tested, multiple times by multiple parties, and this project passed all standards set by law,” Ms. Martin said. “While we do not comment on litigation, this thorough process was followed to ensure the transfer was safe for the public. All of the findings are available online.”
The new data was included in an interim report by Jacobs Engineering Group, a consultant to the Park Service. The firm collected dozens of samples of soil at East Potomac and sent them to an independent laboratory, where they were tested for a variety of contaminants.
The initial results applied to 30 samples collected between Oct. 28, 2025, and April 2, according to the interim report. None of these samples exceeded what the Environmental Protection Agency considers a safe level of lead, a powerful neurotoxin, at industrial and commercial sites.
However, some of the samples exceeded what California regulators, who have taken a more aggressive approach than has the federal government, consider safe levels of lead in industrial settings. And many experts say there is no acceptable amount of lead in the environment.
High levels of childhood exposure to lead can result in stomach pain, vomiting, fatigue, learning difficulties, developmental delays and seizures. In adults, high or chronic exposure levels have been linked to high blood pressure, kidney damage and problems with memory and concentration.
“There’s no safe level of exposure to lead; it’s one of the most toxic elements we know of,” said Joseph G. Allen, a professor of exposure assessment science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who reviewed the interim report’s findings on lead.
“One of the risks you have to think about with lead is that it doesn’t just stay outside in soil,” Dr. Allen said. “We track it on our shoes. So depending on where the soil was placed, golfers and other people could track it indoors.”
Some of the initial samples also surpassed the amount of chromium, another toxic metal, that would normally be found in soil at the site. Asbestos, a cancer-causing mineral, was not detected in any of the initial samples, according to the interim report.
However, two samples were inadvertently not tested for asbestos, the report said. A third sample was also not tested for asbestos because its container broke during shipment to the lab, according to the document.
In addition to the 30 initial samples, another 14 samples were collected on April 23. The test results for the second batch are not yet available.
In October, the Trump administration began dumping truckloads of dirt and debris from the East Wing demolition project without public notice. Then in December, the administration moved to terminate a 50-year lease held by the nonprofit National Links Trust to manage East Potomac and two other public golf courses in Washington.
The DC Preservation League and two area residents sued in February to try to block these moves, saying the administration had bypassed environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act. In a legal filing on Sunday, 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 group also asked a federal judge for emergency relief after The Washington Post and NOTUS reported that construction and tree removal could begin Monday as part of a major renovation of the golf course. But at a hastily scheduled status hearing on Monday morning, the judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order.
“I don’t want to be the overseer of Parks and Rec; I’m no Amy Poehler,” the judge, Ana C. Reyes of the Federal District Court in Washington, said.
Still, Judge Reyes ordered the administration to notify the preservationist group if plans changed. “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,” she said.
