Pollution and hazardous waste took center stage at Monday night's City Council meeting as questions about the safety of a popular city park were brought to the table.

The focus of much of the discussion was Russell Field, a park located in West Cambridge.

Councillors Anthony D. Galluccio and Kenneth L. Reeves '72 expressed concern that adults and children who use Russell Field may be exposed to toxins.

According to City Manager Robert W. Healy, trace levels of asbestos have been detected two to five feet below the surface of Russell Field.

Galluccio and Reeves asked Healy to update residents about the levels of toxins in the field as well as its safety.

"I want parents to understand [the situation] clearly," Galluccio said.

Healy said the field, which is used for youth soccer and Pop Warner football, is "absolutely safe for kids to be playing there."

Upon questioning from Reeves, Healy said unless someone digs down to the level of the asbestos, there is no chance that it will reach the surface.

While officials may consider Russell Field safe for ballgames, they are still working to rid the area of asbestos.

At one time Cambridge gave the MBTA temporary use of the area.

According to Healy, the city plans to hold the MBTA financially responsible for the cleanup. But Healy added the MBTA says it did not cause the pollution and is not willing to pay.

The theme of the environment was carried over from the public comment section of the meeting, when one Cambridge resident spent several minutes updating the Council on the wildlife he recently spotted near Alewife.

Perhaps inspired by the resident's comments, Councillor Sheila Russell commented on the abundance of skunks in the city and jokingly proposed the city create an ordinance to regulate them.

Although much of the meeting focused on environmental issues, early in the meeting Reeves addressed a serious issue that was not on the agenda for the day, speaking of the pressing need for a racial dialogue in Cambridge.

Citing a discrimination suit brought against Cambridge by city employees as well as the hasty departure of former Agassiz School Principle Peggy Averitte, Reeves said the councillors must address the racial climate within the city administration.

"The people that I'm running into on the street seem to have a real festering need to say they cannot believe" the city government allows discrimination to exist, Reeves said.

Despite his criticisms, Reeves said he was unsure of the proper solution to racial tensions.

"In trying to take the temperature of Cambridge in September 1998. I cannot say that we have a clean bill of health, and I'm not sure which physicians to go to," Reeves said.