District Studying Potential Gas Leaks at 92 School Sites

In the wake of the methane gas explosion that rocked the Fairfax District, the Los Angeles Unified School District is exploring the potential threat to city schools located close to oil and natural gas fields no longer in use.

According to Jack Waldron, supervisor of district safety programs, as many as 92 sites, including schools and administrative buildings, have been found to be close to or on top of either oil pools or former oil well drilling locations.

‘Take a Look’

“After the Fairfax incident last March,” Waldron said, “we thought it might be appropriate to take a look and see if we have a problem. We obtained maps from the state Division of Oil and Gas and did an overlay that identified the sites.”

The names of the schools, located in the Central City and Harbor areas, will be released after additional study, Waldron added. A second map study will be conducted to determine what school sites are located on top of or adjacent to landfills, another source of gas fumes.

The district’s next step will be “manual monitoring” by maintenance personnel who will test gas pressure at all of the sites, Waldron said. If any problems are identified, “we would go in with a more sophisticated monitor,” Waldron said.

The safety supervisor said the potential danger to the schools is unknown. “We don’t know. It could turn out to be a big nothing,” he said. “The ‘if’ is how well it (gas seepage) is contained. Normally gas (almost always present with oil) seeps up through the soil and dissipates rather quickly. If it comes up under a building and has the right fuel-air combination, and a source of ignition, you could have a fire or explosion.”

Fire Department officials said the March 24 Fairfax explosion was the result of methane fumes from an old oil and natural gas field that seeped through a clay dome 50 feet below the Earth’s surface. Some of the gas became trapped in the basement of a discount clothing store and was ignited by an electric spark.