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District: Tests show contamination at 2 schools, but no threat

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2009

TAMPA - Recent tests conducted at two Hillsborough County schools have revealed higher-than-acceptable levels of arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxic contaminants in the soil, the district says.

But, school district officials suggest, the contamination – which in some cases exceeds state established clean-up levels – doesn't pose a health risk to faculty or students.

Lockhart Elementary and Young Magnet Middle School were constructed on land once used to bury Tampa's garbage. From the late 1940s until 1968, the property was used a municipal landfill, according to city, county and school district records.

Earlier this year, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection directed the district to notify teachers, staff and parents of children attending both schools of contamination found in previous tests conducted by private consultants hired by the city and county.

District officials did so, but also hired an engineering firm, Chastain Skillman Inc., to test the soil around the schools, and brought in a toxicologist to review the firm's findings.

A report from the Lakeland-based firm said a toxicological analysis of the tests indicate the risk of exposure to the contaminated soil is limited, and therefore not a concern.

The report acknowledged that while the contamination levels exceed DEP's minimum clean-up standards, they are "consistent with typical observed levels in urban soils."

"Based on an evaluation of potential exposure pathways, and a statistical analysis of the sampling results, it was determined that the current risk of exposure to surface soils was quite low … and do not pose a significant risk," the engineering firm's report stated.

Still, the district was concerned enough about the possibility that students could come into contact with the contaminated soil that they have fenced off several areas of Young Magnet where heavy concentrations of lead, arsenic and other toxins were detected.

Cathy Valdes, the district's chief facilities officer, said the move was merely a precaution to prevent potential exposure and is not an indication that the students are at risk.

"We take the health and safety of our students and faculty seriously," she said.

Valdes said there are no known cases of staff or students at either school getting sick.

Parents were notified about the results of the soil samples by the beginning of the school year, and the district will send a letter to parents every year, as required by state law.

DEP spokesman Doug Tobin said state regulators are still reviewing the information from the soil samples and would not comment on the district's tests.

Both Young Magnet and Lockhart get water from the city and there are no potable wells located on property, so the school district decided not to conduct groundwater tests.

DEP records indicate that previous groundwater tests from Young Magnet, conducted by the city, had found levels of contamination three-times higher than minimum standards.

Cleaning up the contaminated soil is not the district's responsibility, school officials contend, and state environmental regulators have not requested that it do so.

"Our mandate was to gather information so that we know the schools are safe and to notify all the people who need to be notified, which we clearly have done," said George Gramling III, a Tampa-based environmental attorney who represents the district.

The landfill that the schools were built over is one of dozens that the DEP wants the city investigate and if contamination above the acceptable levels is found, clean them up.

The site of the two schools is among 21 that environmental regulators have identified as priorities for clean up because they may pose a significant risk to health and safety.

City officials, faced with the possibility of having to spend millions of dollars, are resisting the demands. The city has spent more than $1 million on environmental studies on the landfills to date, and argue that there is no public health risk from the contamination.

Another priority site is under Pizzo Elementary, which also was built on a former city landfill and has been monitored for methane gas emissions since it opened in 1998.

School district officials said Pizzo's quarterly reports indicate that there is no health or environmental risk and there have been no reports of exploding pockets of methane.

The district is also going through historical records to determine if about 30 other public schools where contamination has been found in the past are a cause for concern.

Parents will be notified of the findings when the review is concluded, Valdes said.

Who to contact

Results of the environmental tests conducted at Lockhart Elementary and Young Magnet Middle School are available for public review at either school, district officials said.

Both the Florida Department of Health and Department of Environmental Protection have created a toll-free information hotlines where callers can leave a message with health or environmental questions that will be returned within one business day.

DOH's environmental health hotline: (877) 798-2772 or visit www.myfloridaeh.com/

DEP's waste cleanup hotline: (866) 282-0787 or visit www.floridadep.org/waste

Information from Hillsborough County School District

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (813) 259-7679.

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