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Tests Indicate School On Fringe Of Raytheon Zone Is Safe

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By GALINA TISHCHENKO

News Channel 8

Published: August 11, 2008

Azalea Elementary School staff and parents met with environmental consultants today to discuss the results of the indoor and outdoor air testing at the school.

The school is on the fringe of a groundwater pollution plume that originated on the site of a Raytheon defense plant at least 17 years ago, before Raytheon owned the property.

Because of concerns that toxic chemicals in that plume can affect people not only through water but also through air, the Pinellas County School District and Raytheon both hired specialists to test air quality.

The school's consultant, Steve Mlynarek of the University of South Florida, tested three classrooms, the lunchroom, a break room, the playground and cafeteria on Aug. 4. Raytheon tested the same areas a week earlier.

Both sets of tests detected four chemicals in the air: chloromethane, toluene, benzene and 1,2-dichloroethane. The experts say the discovery of those chemicals was neither surprising nor alarming and not connected to the groundwater pollution spreading from Raytheon.

"The air quality samples that we've taken both indoors and outdoors at the school reflect urban background air that you'd expect in any urban environment," said Greg Taylor, senior manager for environmental health and safety at Raytheon.

Mlynarik agreed with Taylor that there is no danger to schoolchildren or staff.

School officials expect their end of the testing to cost about $20,000 and say they will ask Raytheon to help foot the bill.

"We haven't talked to them about that yet but, we're certainly going to, and it would be our request to them that they pay for a part of that," said Edward J. Ural, director of environmental and quality improvement services with the school district.

Ural told Azalea Elementary's staff that the district will continue testing the air and groundwater regularly.

"The bottom line is that we feel that at this time that the staff and the students and the parents have no reason to be concerned, and we want to welcome them back to school as quickly as they can," Ural said.

Separate tests in July of residential irrigation wells In neighborhoods surrounding the Raytheon site uncovered six more homes with contamination that exceeds state standards. That brings the total to 19 homes discovered since April that have tainted irrigation wells.

Raytheon and state health officials say their studies indicate the polluted wells pose no danger to people because no one drinks the water.

A Raytheon executive is expected to brief the Agency on Bay Management on Thursday on the pollution's effect on Boca Ciega Bay. The agency is a committee of the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

Raytheon must submit its final assessment of the pollution to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection by Aug. 31. Raytheon has 90 days after the DEP accepts it's final report to devise a cleanup plan for the pollution, which now extends underground at least half a mile from the Raytheon plant.

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