State grants $2.5M for arsenic cleanup (Daily Journal)
Efforts to remove toxic dirt from the Burlingame High School campus got a boost this week when $2.5 million in state emergency money was granted to cover part of the $4 million costs.
The 60/40 grant will help the San Mateo Union High School District finish efforts which began earlier this year. The 8,000-square-foot lawn in front of the school was fenced off two years ago, eliminating a popular student lunch area. The dirt was determined to contain abnormally high levels of lead-based paint residue and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. The lead came from paint used prior to the 1980s and the PCBs likely came from the fluid once used in electrical transformers, according to previously published reports from the DTSC. Now the district can begin to restore the front lawn and the back of the campus where portables used to be placed, said Interim Superintendent David Miller. The back area will be restored to a field for soccer and lacrosse teams.
The district originally planned to clear out the dirt and clean the area over the 2005 winter break. Since then, the price of cleanup has continually risen from $250,000 two years ago to $500,000 at the end of 2005 to the current cost of $4 million. The school removed the PCB contaminated soil over spring break. It will remove the lead contaminated soil between June 4 and June 29, according to the DTSC.
The lead and PCBs in the soil in front of Burlingame High School could cause health concerns if one is exposed to it for a prolonged period of time. The type of exposure students have with the soil poses little threat, according to the DTSC. However, the lawn will remained fenced off until the total cleanup of the area.
Efforts to remove toxic dirt from the Burlingame High School campus got a boost this week when $2.5 million in state emergency money was granted to cover part of the $4 million costs.
The 60/40 grant will help the San Mateo Union High School District finish efforts which began earlier this year. The 8,000-square-foot lawn in front of the school was fenced off two years ago, eliminating a popular student lunch area. The dirt was determined to contain abnormally high levels of lead-based paint residue and polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs. The lead came from paint used prior to the 1980s and the PCBs likely came from the fluid once used in electrical transformers, according to previously published reports from the DTSC. Now the district can begin to restore the front lawn and the back of the campus where portables used to be placed, said Interim Superintendent David Miller. The back area will be restored to a field for soccer and lacrosse teams.
The district originally planned to clear out the dirt and clean the area over the 2005 winter break. Since then, the price of cleanup has continually risen from $250,000 two years ago to $500,000 at the end of 2005 to the current cost of $4 million. The school removed the PCB contaminated soil over spring break. It will remove the lead contaminated soil between June 4 and June 29, according to the DTSC.
The lead and PCBs in the soil in front of Burlingame High School could cause health concerns if one is exposed to it for a prolonged period of time. The type of exposure students have with the soil poses little threat, according to the DTSC. However, the lawn will remained fenced off until the total cleanup of the area.
- Written by Fiona
It looks like the lead from the sides of the building (below the windows) has already been removed, but I see no action has been taken on the front, though our understanding was that this would be taken care of over this break. Well, the break is a third over, and again, nothing. In the meantime, the trees within the fenced area haven't got enough water and are dying. They look to be in distress. At the very least, the sprinklers should be turned back on so we don't lose the grove.
One large redwood was already quietly removed from the area opposite the cafeteria. It was also dried up. Sprinklers have also been cut in the planters around the Aquatic Center, and never repaired. Not sure if that is school grounds or shared, but it looks bleak. Those trees also died.
Posted by: | June 29, 2007 at 03:10 PM