THOUSAND OAKS : Improper Chemical Use Brings Citations

Thousand Oaks school officials have been cited by the state for failing to warn teachers that a potentially hazardous chemical would be used to clean some classroom desks at Westlake High School on April 21, officials said.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District received one serious citation and two general citations after science teacher Worth Crouch complained that the graffiti removal cleaner caused health problems to him and several students.

However, the decision by the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health did not say that the chemical should not be used. Instead, the serious citation was issued because information about P-Dicholorobenzene should have been publicly posted, officials said.

The chemical is known to cause cancer if exposure occurs in large amounts, officials said. Two lesser citations were given to the district for not training teachers in the proper handling of chemicals, officials said.

Crouch, 50, filed a worker’s compensation claim alleging that he was exposed to the cleaner over four years and that it adversely affected his entire body. The district denied the claim, and Crouch now is pursuing a litigated claim, officials said.

District officials have said that the cleaning product had not been used by the district for years, but a janitor inadvertently used an old bottle. Because the product containing the chemical is no longer purchased by the district, there are no plans to post warning signs, said Assistant Supt. Sarah Hart.

As a result of the citation, the district will begin showing teachers a video on chemical safety in the workplace, Hart said.