Tainted Playground Now Safe, Study Finds
An environmental engineer who performed extensive tests on the tarry petroleum goo that oozed from a Cudahy elementary school playground last summer, forcing the school’s closure, this week said it is safe for students to return to the school.
Angelo Bellomo, director of McLaren Environmental Engineering of Burbank, said a study at Park Avenue Elementary School showed that the air was not contaminated with hazardous vapors. He added, however, that students should not be allowed to come in contact with the petroleum-based material, which usually oozes to the surface during the summer. The school was built in an area were numerous refineries previously were located.
Officials of the state health department and the Los Angeles Unified School District are to meet next week to discuss plans to remove the substance and reopen the school.
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