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Lead Found At Location Slated For Playing Fields

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May 20, 2008 8:27 am US/Pacific

Lead Found At Location Slated For Playing Fields

LOS ANGELES

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A parking lot that the that the Los Angeles Unified School District plans to turn into playing fields for Virgil Middle School tested positive for dangerous levels of lead, fueling the case for project opponents, it was reported Tuesday.

The LAUSD hopes to move the school's current playing fields to make room for an elementary school.

Teachers received a notice Friday from the state Division of Toxic Substances Control stating that the levels of lead found in the ground under the gravel lot exceed safety standards, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Lead levels at the site were found to be more than 100 times the recommended limit of 255 milligrams per kilogram in samples collected a month ago by the Division of Toxic Substances Control, The Times reported.

"We've been walking on that for years," math teacher Maria Magana, who has been among the most vocal opponents of the project, told The Times. "This is exactly what the teachers mean when they say they don't trust the district to do the $10 million cleanup correctly."

Officials say the lead does not pose a health hazard.

"There is no immediate threat of exposure to the contamination because the lead is located beneath the ground surface and is covered with gravel that serves as a barrier," the agency notice sent to teachers Friday stated, according to The Times.

The lot was paved over the weekend in an effort to contain the lead, which could be harmful if inhaled.

Contaminants on the land and groundwater under the future fields have been found in past reports, according to the Times. Cleanup costs are estimated at $10 million.