Council member Beth Krom wants the I’s dotted and T’s crossed when it comes to the chain of communications in regards to new findings of soil contaminates at the site of Irvine’s new Portola High School currently under construction. The recent discovery of petroleum hydrocarbons and naphthaline, a known cancer causing agent typically found in pesticides and moth balls, calls into question whether proper protocols were followed in notifying the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
According to the memo Krom crafted for the city council meeting, “The city’s own geotechnical consultant noted that the toxins found were not anticipated or considered in the environmental studies presented to DTSC when they certified the site. He recommended that the city assure that both IUSD and the DTSC be notified. There is no record that this occurred.”
Krom’s concerns arise from research conducted by Dr. Harvey Liss in a story he published in Irvine Community News & Views earlier this month. Liss writes:
“On Nov. 13, 2014, when construction workers were excavating soil to install a massive concrete storm drain, they encountered toxic contamination, later described as “stained soil,” and stopped work. An email later revealed that the contaminated soil stretched 29 feet onto the Portola High School site; and the contamination permeated the soil between a depth of 15 and 28 feet. By the time the toxic discovery was removed for testing and disposal, a total of 78 truckloads of contaminated soil had been hauled away.
In Liss’s story, David Richter, a consulting scientist to the city of Irvine, sent an email to the city reporting that samples collected indicated between 1,400 znd 3,700 parts per million of petroleum hydrocarbons (likely from diesel) as well as napthalenes (from jet fuel).
IUSD’s own consultant, Denise Clendening wrote an email to IUSD suggesting she contact the DTSC to indicate the contaminated soil was “non-hazardous.” She wrote: “we will be taking samples to confirm that it is non-hazardous after it is removed.” To which we have to ask, if it’s non-hazardous, why remove the soil?
You can read more about Naphthalene here. From the site: “If you live near a hazardous waste site and have a well used for drinking water, you might be exposed to naphthalene, 1 methylnaphthalene, or 2 methylnaphthalene. For this to happen, the chemicals must pass through the soil and dissolve in the underground water that supplies your well. Children might also contact these chemicals by playing in or eating the dirt near a waste site.”
It’s not clear if the levels of the petro-chemicals found pose a hazard to the construction workers now or students and teachers later.
The district had Clendening contact us about Liss’s findings while while it’s clear she knows her science, she wasn’t particularly helpful (media training, really) and she was untruthful about a key question I asked twice. Clendening lied when asked directly that she recommended the district not send Dr. Liss a requested Laboratory Report under his public records act request. On January 8, she sent an email to IUSD saying “I do not believe the district should send him the laboratory report.” Oddly enough she suggests Harvey ask for more information from “5Pt and/or the city.” I asked her twice and she twice denied suggesting IUSD not send the report which was uncovered as part of Liss’s PRA request.
See the pic below:
So while Clendening may have credentials on hazardous materials, I’m going to have a tough time believing anything she says. IUSD should take note — your expert didn’t tell the truth about something trivial; why believe her on the big stuff?
My brother is a chemist and works for a company in New York that processes cleans toxic sites and manages hazardous waste for safe disposal or shipment. I asked him about this and he says, without reviewing the documents, he really can’t comment. But he also said, “if you’re hauling soil away from a school site, there’s probably a good reason.” He asked if my daughter would attend that school and I said no. His response: “Good.”
We contacted IUSD’s new PIO for comment on Monday and she hasn’t responded.
Drama Queen, Larry Agran, is stirring up all this paranoia for purely selfish political reasons. Agran wants to ride in on his pompous white horse and “fix” everything, the same way he “fixed” the Great Park. The on-site dirt in question is gone. Hauled away. In any case, it was 15 to 30 feet below the surface.
Moreover, the largest contaminant was diesel fuel, which is only 1/500th as toxic as… caffeine! Will the Drama Queen demand that Portola High School ban coffee on premises? Nobody at IUSD or city hall wants to hurt children. This fear-mongering by Larry is similar to how he and his cronies managed to kill El Toro International Airport, after three votes and many hundreds of lies and reprehensible scare tactics. Liberals drive their agenda through fear and dishonesty. It’s disgraceful, and it continues to destroy our once great nation.
Yes, I believe you have accurately identified the true purpose of all this scaremongering- create a school board campaign issue. Agran-affiliated school board candidates have been unsuccessful, if memory serves, going back to 2012 when all three were defeated, then more recently the special election. They’re probably targeting someone currently on the board who is up for re-election in 2016.
There are three members of the IUSD board up for re-election. It’s not scaremongering at all. The bigger issue is the failure of the school board to adequately plan for schools in the wake of the explosive growth of homes near Irvine Blvd, Jeffrey and Sand Canyon. Kids who live in Stonegate can’t go to Stonegate Elementary which is over capacity. That’s not consistent with the concept of neighborhood schools
If it’s not toxic John, why was it hauled away?
The dirt was removed to remove the basis for scare-mongering lies, which Larry and Company have been using effectively for many years. The scare-mongering lies began with attacks on El Toro International Airport. When the first election failed, the scare-mongering lies escalated, in desperation. When the second election also defeated NIMBYs, the scare-mongering lies reached a fever pitch, e.g. “noise kills.” Commercial jets with 4 mile wide wingspans were presented in public hearings. They covered the sky, but “weren’t needed.” Presumably airlines fly empty aircraft, with 4 mile wingspans? Please show me just one such plane. El Toro has been an airport for 50 years, and military aircraft are much noisier than civilian commercial jets. Agran and Kransner do not care about facts, only about promulgating fear. They’re drama queens.
But arguing the point with liberals is useless, I realize. I only express myself so that leftists like you and Larry don’t get the erroneous impression that everyone agrees with you. If that were the case, why was Agran voted off the council…. again?
On the subject of “toxins,” had you any idea that caffeine is 500 times more toxic than diesel fuel? Why don’t you and Larry scream to ban coffee, throughout the city? Ah, and that naphthalene? Mothballs. People put them in closets to kill moths. You can even smell it a little bit. Be afraid, Dan. Be very afraid.
The sun too is carcinogenic. Don’t go outside if the sun is up.
John,
El Toro was NEVER an airport. It was a military installation.
The purpose and operation of those two entities are entirely different.
the dirt was removed because its a health hazard or they would have left it
Don’t drink any coffee, Dan. Don’t go outside.
WAY too scary and dangerous.
Why all the panic and yelling for that awful dirt that…. has been hauled away?
Answer: Drama Queen Agran wants the spotlight again. He’s unemployed, and has nothing better to do than control everyone else’s lives.
That’s what sanctimonious, arrogant liberals do.
and the “harmless” dirt was hauled away, why exactly? If its not harmful, why haul it away.
I’m enjoying a nice cup of Joe now John, thanks for asking, you sanctimonious, arrogant conservative.