Dangerous levels of lead have been found under a parking lot that the Los Angeles Unified School District plans to turn into playing fields for Virgil Middle School, reigniting the ire of project opponents. The district plans to move the school's current playing fields to build an elementary school on the site. The state Division of Toxic Substances Control says lead levels exceeding safety standards have been found in the ground under the gravel lot. The lot was paved over the weekend to contain the lead, which could be harmful if inhaled. Cleanup costs are expected to reach $10 million.
Click here to read The Los Angeles Times article.
FROM APRIL 2008: The Los Angeles has designated the field of a crowded east Hollywood middle school as the site of a new elementary campus, a plan that calls for building fields on a contaminated plot that the district repeatedly has passed over for previous projects. An environmental consultant says the soil and underground water contamination on the site next to Virgil Middle School can be cleaned up for a "very preliminary estimate" of $10 million, which would include installation of an impermeable barrier to stop off-site pollution plumes from recontaminating the site.
To read The Los Angeles Times article, click here.
