Cudahy : Park Ave. School Cleanup Topic of Briefing Tonight
After months of meetings to discuss the petroleum contamination that shut down Park Avenue Elementary School last year, parents, teachers, state and school officials tonight will be briefed on the cleanup of the campus and its long-awaited reopening Monday.
The meeting of the Park Avenue Environmental Task Force, which was set up to discuss and recommend solutions for dealing with the contamination, will begin at 6 p.m. at the school, 8020 Park Ave., Cudahy.
Park Avenue Elementary was closed by the Los Angeles Unified School District last July after parents and teachers voiced concerns that the sticky black goo that formed small puddles on the asphalt playground was toxic. Studies later showed the goo to be petroleum sludge that had been buried in an old dump on which the school was built.
For the last several months, an environmental engineering firm has been working to contain the sludge by capping the playground with a thick plastic cover and a layer of fresh asphalt. A built-in venting system to dissipate gases also was installed.
District officials said the 1,065 students of Park Avenue, who have been attending two other local schools, will return to Park Avenue on Monday.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
