Parents of children enrolled at a newly constructed middle school are anxious after learning of soil and groundwater contamination on the site weeks before classes begin.
"All these parents found out two weeks before school that the ground was contaminated," said Lisa Barno, whose 11-year-old son is set to attend the school. "It seems we should have known beforehand."
Schools Superintendent Nicholas L. Perrapato said that he learned about the contamination earlier this month, although state officials overseeing the construction discovered the contamination in 2004 and took steps to remediate it.
Barno said she was among many parents who attended an open-house meeting Tuesday in the cafeteria of Garfield Middle School at 175 Lanza Ave. School and state officials explained at the meeting that state Department of Environmental Protection tests at the site on underground soil and groundwater on June 29 found contamination levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, and perchloroethylene, PERC, that exceeded acceptable standards.
FAST FACTS
What is trichloroethylene?
• A colorless or blue organic liquid most commonly used to remove grease from metal parts and some textiles.
• It is uncertain whether it increases the risk of cancer or birth defects.
What is perchloroethylene?
• A colorless organic liquid that is a component of aerosol dry-cleaning products.
• The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that perchloroethylene may cause cancer.
Sources: Environmental Protection Agency Web site, U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Web site.
DEP officials were not available Wednesday to explain the precise levels.
The same chemicals had been detected in the site's soil in 2004, the year the state Schools Construction Corp. -- now known as the Schools Development Authority -- bought the property, according to documents provided by the Garfield school district.
The levels of contamination exceeded DEP standards in the underground soil. It is believed the chemicals were introduced by a dry-cleaning facility that had operated on the site.
Perrapato said on Wednesday that the contaminated soil had been removed and replaced as part of a DEP approved plan. However, when excavation for the middle school was completed in November 2006, groundwater 15 feet below the ground's surface was found to contain "very low levels" of PERC and TCE, according to a July 23 PowerPoint presentation provided by the Schools Development Authority.
An Aug. 10 letter sent to parents indicated that the chemicals were also found in the soil five feet below the ground's surface.
The presence of the chemicals in the groundwater raised the concern of "vapor intrusion," a process in which contaminants migrate from the soil into the indoor air of buildings.
The DEP and the state Department of Health designed a filtration system to remove the chemicals' underground vapors from the site through a series of pipes lined up on the western side of the building.
Perrapato said that three tests in July and August led to the conclusion that the school was safe for children to occupy and that classes would begin as scheduled on Sept. 4.
Between 950 and 1,000 students are projected to attended the new middle school, Perrapato said. As many as 360 3- and 4-year-olds attend the Garfield Early Childhood Center built at the rear of the property and opened in September 2005, he said.
"We feel very confident that everything is going to be fine," Perrapato said. "This is not going to end now. We're taking very precautionary measures. Right now, I feel very confident."
Despite officials' reassurances, parents are uneasy.
"As a mother, I have a right to be worried about our children," said Heidi Yarmula, who also has an 11-year-old son enrolled in the school.
"I feel better that I know that they're working on it," Barno said. "You always have concerns because you never know the effects down the road."
Among the questions lingering among parents on Wednesday was why a contaminated property was chosen for the middle school.
"We didn't," said Kevin McElroy, Schools Development Authority spokesman. "We built on a remediated site. It was a district-driven decision as to where they wanted the school."
The state paid more than $2 million for the 3-acre site in February 2004, according to city tax assessor records. The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., commonly known as A&P, had owned the site for eight years. The company had leased the property to a Food Town supermarket, a bank, a Laundromat and a dry cleaner.
Perrapato, the schools superintendent, defended the selected site, given the steps taken by the DEP and the Schools Development Authority.
"There was no danger to anybody because they removed all the soil. Why would you be concerned at that point?" he said. "Being contaminated means that you find the problem, you clean up the problem, and then you build."
By Paul Brubaker
