School’s Tainted Soil to Be Removed

In a surprise announcement that sent a large crowd into a cheering frenzy, school officials announced Wednesday that the contaminated soil of a Cudahy elementary school will be cleaned up.

The announcement was made at an evening meeting at Park Avenue Elementary School attended by at least 500 parents, school staff and children, and officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control who will oversee the project.

“I’m here to tell you you deserve better and you’re right,” said James McConnell Jr., the district’s chief facilities executive.

Supt. Roy Romer “has authorized me to tell you that . . . we’re going to take Option 4,” he told a momentarily puzzled crowd, referring to the community’s choice to excavate and clean up contaminated soil.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

The school was built in 1968 on a former landfill. Soon after the campus opened, oily liquid began bubbling through the playground surface. Parents were told that the ooze was due to bad asphalt conditions, and it wasn’t until 1988 that officials learned that the school was built atop a landfill.

In 1989, the school closed temporarily so that workers could cap the sludge. But the cap was not meant to be a permanent fix, and the problems have persisted.

Last year, traces of arsenic were discovered in the kindergarten area. The arsenic concentration was found to be higher than normal but not high enough to be a significant short-term risk.

Meanwhile, there were suspicions that cancer cases, asthma and other health problems suffered by students and teachers were the result of the contamination.

Residents had been waiting for a study commissioned by the district that would recommend options. Last week, when word leaked out that a version of the study was out and that it recommended continued monitoring community activists organized Wednesday night’s meeting.

The community became adamant about the study’s fourth option: the excavation and removal of soil, which will cost an estimated $7.2 million and close the campus for several months.

State officials emphasized at the start of the meeting that a final decision was not due until late summer. But the strong position by Romer, who has committed money for the cleanup, assures that the cleanup will occur, officials said.