CHICAGO -- An insecure fence surrounds an Environmental Protection Agency superfund site on the South Side where children say they often sneak in to play.

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NBC5's Carol Marin reported Wednesday that the land could soon become a neighborhood park, but it's a site that is filled with controversy.

Filled also with what toxicologists say can, with long-term exposure, cause skin and lung cancer, Marin said. So the question becomes: What is the best way to deal with the potential danger and still give children in the Little Village neighborhood some place safe to play?

Kim Wasserman is with the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.

"People over here deserve a park just like anybody else," she said as she took Marin through what she described as the poorest part of the neighborhood.

About 20,000 kids under the age of 10 live in Little Village, Marin said.

"Most of the blocks between Kedzie and Sacramento, you will find all the kids playing on the street because there is nowhere else to play," Wasserman said.

But that may change. Marin said the city is trying to buy a 24-acre site where a company called Cellatex once made asphalt roofing products.

Twelfth ward Alderman George Cardenas pushed hard to have a park built in this, one of the few open spaces in his ward, located just across the street from the Cook County Jail.

"It's not a done deal, but we certainly are moving in that direction," Cardenas told NBC5.

But that's not all good news for area residents.

"The problem now is that they're going to give us a park that's a hazardous park. It's a toxic waste of a park," Wasserman said.

This particular U.S. EPS Superfund site is polluted with a group of chemicals called PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons).

The danger of a PAH, Marin said, is that a lot of them are thought to cause cancer.

Federal officials have known since 1983 that the acreage in question is polluted. In addition, the EPA says 32 nearby houses have unacceptable levels of pollution in their yards.

Martha Castillion moved to the area 24 years ago.

"After a little while, I started to hear about the contamination ... and I'm afraid, let me tell you," she said, adding that she doesn't know what to do now.

Four years ago a 2-foot gravel cap was placed on the property in an effort to contain the pollution on the site.

"There isn't a proper cap on this site. Two feet of gravel, excuse me, is not a proper cap," Wasserman said.

But the EPA project manager disagrees.

"This is the best remedy for the site," said Jenna Slaboda, with the EPA.

Slaboda said totalling removing the contamination -- which community activists say could cost $50 million -- would actually spread more of it and make matters worse.

The alderman said that it's a fair question for residents to ask: Is the site getting cleaned up correctly?

Marin said that the Honeywell corporation is one of the past owners of the land and has agreed to pay for the cleanup. Marin said that she had hoped to ask Honeywell a few questions, but representatives declined to speak to NBC5.

A company spokeswoman, Victoria Streitifeld, issued a statement:

"Honeywell is working under the direction of the EPA on the remediation plan for the former site. We are committed to protecting human health and the environment throughout this process."

Honeywell had not spoken with Cardenas, either, but Slaboda told Marin that the EPA works very closely with them on the project.

Some community activists believe they work too closely.

"The U.S. EPA seems to be kind of holding Honeywell's hand, doesn't want to upset them," Wasserman said.

"Honeywell could make the $50 million to clean this up in 17.4 hours ... 17.4 hours for the health of our community," she said, isn't a lot to ask.

In the meantime, Honeywell, according to the EPA, has begun testing soil in 180 homes and has said it will clean up any contamination it finds to meet federal standards, Marin said. It's an action that Castillion said has been a long time coming.

As another summer comes to a close, Marin said, Little Village kids carry on, turning a cracked patch of asphalt into a baseball diamond for a reason that was so simply put by one of those young players.

"Because there's nowhere else to play."

Without a complete cleanup, no building with a foundation can be built, so no swimming pool or field house could be constructed if there is a park put on the site.

Since NBC5's interview with the alderman, Cardenas said Honeywell officials flew in to talk to him and assured him that they will do what the EPA instructs them to do.