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Toxins no threat to schools

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE

cwade@tampatrib.com

Published: November 14, 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 schools 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 by private consultants hired by the city and county.

District officials did so, and hired an engineering firm, Chastain Skillman Inc., to test soil around the schools, and brought in a toxicologist to review the firm's findings at a cost of $98,000.

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 not a concern.

The report said 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, district officials were 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 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 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 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 the schools were built over is one of dozens the DEP wants the city to 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 cleanup because they might pose a significant risk to health and safety.

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

Another priority site is under Pizzo Elementary, also 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.

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

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