Playground Sand to Be Tested for Malathion
Responding to parental concern that children might be playing in contaminated sand, the Burbank school district will test playground sand at elementary schools for malathion after the next spraying, school officials said Friday.
Tim Crowner, director of pupil services for the Burbank Unified School District, said some parents are worried that the chemical lingers in playground sand and may harm children who play in it.
If the controversial pesticide is detected in the sand, Crowner said, school officials will ask experts whether the amount of the chemical poses a health risk.
“We would ask how we might go about getting rid of the malathion, or should we keep the children out of the sandboxes, or how long it would take for it to degrade,” Crowner said.
The school board voted 4 to 1 at its meeting Thursday to allocate $1,200 to pay for the soil testing.
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