Rancho Vista Elementary School Parents Petition for Toxic Testing

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Parents Petition for Toxic Testing

By Boyd News Staff Writer

RHE -- Like any good parents, those who have students at Rancho Vista

Elementary School in Rolling Hills Estates are concerned about their

children's safety. But they are particularly worried in the wake of Los

Angeles County's proposal to build a golf course atop the Palos Verdes

Landfill, which lies adjacent to Rancho Vista and Rolling Hills Country Day

School.

Last week, parent Zimmerman sent a petition, signed by 200 Rancho

Vista parents, to the project's lead agency, the L.A. County Department of

Parks and Recreation. The petition calls for current and future

environmental testing to ensure the landfill doesn't have any adverse

impacts on the school or the children's health.

" What needs to be done is some thorough testing, " Zimmerman said. " I haven't

seen anything that assures me this [proposal] is something that is safe for

our community. "

According to Zimmerman, the landfill may contain numerous toxins that could

surface as a result of development. She said she hasn't seen any report from

either the L.A. County Sanitation District -- the public agency responsible

for the landfill -- or the state Department of Toxic Substances Control that

convinces her the project is safe.

In their petition, Rancho Vista parents call on environmental agencies to

test the site for levels of certain contaminants, such as mercury, lead and

asbestos.

" They really need to take a look at some of these issues before they deem it

safe for the entire community, " Zimmerman said. " It's not a toxic school

[currently], and I don't want it to become that. "

Parent Jim Tarr, an environmental engineer who lives and works in RHE, is

also concerned about potential development on the landfill and the possible

release of contaminants.

When the Sanitation District last tested Rancho Vista school in 1992-93,

Tarr said, officials used a methodology that he called " severely limited in

its ability to detect toxic chemicals that could have been present. "

According to Tarr, the testing couldn't detect any organic chemical besides

methane, among other problems. " The report reflects an irresponsibility on

their part, " he said. " They have put these kids in harm's way. They have a

responsibility to determine and reflect what that risk is. "

Tarr called on the Sanitation District to perform " comprehensive, periodic

and ongoing tests " to ensure children's safety.

Adding to his concerns, Tarr said that through the years, 47 billion pounds

of waste have been dumped into the landfill -- equivalent to every resident

in California dumping 1,000 pounds of waste there at one time. " I work on a

lot of toxic chemical problems all over the country, " he said. " This is a

major league problem. "

Sanitary Response

But Sanitation District officials maintain that the landfill -- and

therefore the school -- is indeed safe. Because the Sanitation District

operates an on-site energy recovery facility, which converts methane from

the landfill into electricity for area homes, the agency often tests for

certain chemicals, according to Dave Snyder, section head of solid waste

technical services.

" We do a lot of monitoring along with that as well -- air quality, water

quality, " he said. " We're still the agency responsible for the maintenance

of the landfill. We want to cooperate with the community and the county as

well. "

Snyder said it benefits the Sanitation District to ensure the county

develops the golf course properly. " We want to make sure it's developed in a

responsible manner so that our systems are protected and there is no damage

from it, " he said. " Regardless of how it gets developed, we'll still be

involved in the maintenance and monitoring of that site. "

Though district officials completed an environmental assessment of the

landfill and found no harmful levels of any airborne substances, Snyder

said, they are willing to test Rancho Vista School again. Such testing is

not a state requirement, he added.

For many years, Snyder said, the Sanitation District investigated the

landfill under an agreement with the DTSC until a study was released in

1995. " There wasn't any contamination in the soil or surface water or air, "

he said.

As for water that could seep from the landfill to Rancho Vista, Snyder said

no surface water flows from the landfill to the school, " and groundwater is

not going to flow uphill. "

According to Snyder, the Sanitation District also tested soil on the top

level of the landfill and found no trace of substances like mercury, lead or

asbestos. " It's important for people to see the site and understand it's not

an exposed pile of refuse. The wastes are not going to jump out of the

ground and walk over to the school site, " he said. " There shouldn't be any

contamination of the children at the school from the landfill. "

Snyder admits that underground plumes of water from the site have carried

volatile organic compounds, such as household cleaners and industrial

byproducts, beneath Hawthorne and Crenshaw boulevards. However, he

explained, local residents and students never use such water, which

originates in the ground and is full of salt from marine sediments.

" We're continuing to monitor [the plumes]. We've cut those off with barrier

systems, " Snyder said. " [The volatile compounds] do degrade slowly with

time. They are biodegrading ... If it's not a threat to anybody, sometimes

the best solution is to continue to watch it degrade. "

District Is Vigilant

Despite such assurances, school district officials are keeping a vigilant

eye on the landfill and proposed development. Officials already have hired

an environmental consultant, CTL Environmental Services, to help them with

monitoring at Rancho Vista.

Last week during a trip to Sacramento, Deputy Superintendent of Business

Services Bruce Auld delivered copies of the Rancho Vista petition to state

Sen. Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) and Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long

Beach), as well as to Gov. Gray and Superintendent of Public

Instruction Delaine Eastin.

Auld also has corresponded with the Air Quality Management District, which

has agreed to do air testing around Rancho Vista school. But he said it's

important that all the relevant agencies, including the Sanitation District

and DTSC, ensure that they have tested for levels of any potentially toxic

substance at the school.

AQMD staff plans to visit Rancho Vista soon to test the air. " We may be on

the brink of getting all the data that we need, " Auld said. " We're right on

top of things. [The school] has got to be safe and we've got to be able to

maintain operations. "

While the school felt left out at the beginning of the process, district

officials have helped keep parents, teachers and administrators in the loop,

said Rancho Vista Principal Janice Cannady.

" We all want to make sure that everything is taken care of. [Parents] just

want to make sure the school district officials are vigilant, and they are, "

she said. " Nobody wants to feel that somebody snuck one in and created

something that is bad for the neighborhood. We're paying attention and we're

vigilant. "

Snyder will address the community during a meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday,

April 30 in the Rancho Vista multipurpose room. The public is invited to

attend.