Kids and Chemicals Don’t Mix

Common sense alone dictates these days that schools should not be located near plants that produce toxic chemicals, but chemical awareness is a relatively new phenomenon. As a result, nothing in state law requires school districts or local governments to pay attention to the potential risk.

Education, health and pollution-control officials are working for passage in Sacramento of AB 3205, sponsored by Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), to try to prevent incidents like one that occurred in January in San Dimas. At least 100 children became ill there after an acid spill at an adjacent chrome- and nickel-plating plant. Tweedy Elementary School in South Gate had several children hospitalized from a similar incident in 1986, and there have been numerous odor complaints about a fiberglass plant near Santa Monica High School. Dr. Paul Papanek, the chief of Los Angeles County’s toxics public-health program, says that “similar problems are not uncommon throughout the state.”

AB 3205 would require school districts and local governments to evaluate the risk of exposing children to dangerous chemicals when they are siting new schools or approving building permits for new factories. The evaluations would have to be conducted when a school and a chemical plant would be within one-quarter mile of each other--the distance within which health and air-quality officials say most spills pose the most risk.

The legislation would also give local air-quality districts authority to try to prevent accidents at plants already located near schools. Existing law requires pollution-control districts to let companies remain in operation as long as they clean up any spills and comply with the law, but the law is vague about whether officials can take preventive action.

The Waters bill would clarify that authority, saying that air-pollution district officials could investigate and require tighter controls or deny permits if a school superintendent or hospital operator complained that there might be a potential risk at a nearby business using chemicals.

The California Manufacturers Assn. says that it wants those children protected but opposes giving this much authority to air-quality officials.

Most companies want to be good neighbors, particularly when the neighbors are children.AB 3205 would write common sense into law and raise the awareness of potential problems. It deserves both the support of the California Senate and the signature of Gov. George Deukmejian once it is enacted.