In response to the entry mentioning the New Administration site.Fact: the new administration site was formerly a landfill used to dispose all kinds of debris as I-5 was constructed through the county.
Fact: The site directly north of the New Administration site, known as Center 5000, is on the Department of Ecology List of contaminated sites. It too was used as a landfill for I-5 construction debris.
Fact: Preliminary sampling at the New Administration site did show poly nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons above Model Toxic Control Act (MTCA) regulatory levels and traces of pesticides.
Fact: Hazardous waste is defined by certain physical characteristics (e.g.flammability, reactivity, corrosivity) or by levels of chemicals.
Fact: Levels of chemicals in soil that pose health risks under MTCA are well under the levels for allowed in hazardous waste. Saying there is no hazardous waste at the New Administration site does not mean there are no chemical contaminants present. What is important are their levels and if they controlled to prevent exposure.
Fact: For better or worse, determination by the Department of Ecology for No Further Action on the new administration site was based on a review of the available data.
Fact: No comprehensive sampling and analysis was completed that statistically shows that the site is devoid of any pockets of contamination above regulatory levels. That, of course, would take money and since the District gave away 2.3 million they cannot pay for the randomized sampling at various depths checking for the full list of hazardous analytes. There is no way of knowing why lies beneath the surface.
Fact: The ESC is scheduled to become the new Scriber Lake High School. It was never intended to be a school. Yet it will be if the new administration site ever gets the funding to be built.
Fact: The New Administration site is not intended to be school. But what if it turns out there is a new boondoggle to be had and a school is put there? In the age of bisphenol in baby bottles, lead in toys and diacetyl in microwave popcorn, I guess one more sleeping dog does not matter. After all, there are plenty of other things to bite you.
Claire Olsovsky, MA, MS
Former Loss Control Safety Specialist, 2000-2005
7 comments:
If the district soon closes at least 2 schools, doesn't it seem reasonable to relocate the ESC to one of those buildings and not spend millions of dollars building a new ESC? (Of course having all those "important" people in a beat-up-looking school isn't as ego-stroking as being in a brand-new, state of the art building, but wouldn't it save millions of dollars?)
Many other school districts have moved their administrative functions into former schools.
Perhaps the ESC should move to Former Woodway High School or Evergreen and the Homeschool Resource Center could move to Woodway Elementary.
Evergreen would be very convenient and also next to I-5, just like the new site.
Sounds reasonable to me, but do you really think the "Big-Wigs" would EVEN consider moving from the present ESC, which is totally functional, to an old school? I spent 4 years working in the OLD Mountlake Terrace Jr. High (now Terrace Park)and was sick the entire time with bronchitis, which I had never had in my LIFE, and have not had since leaving the building, and movng back to a remodeled school. The building was full of asbestos, the water in the office and classrooms, was medium to dark brown in color and was not useable; employees had to bring bottled water from home. I could work with a table, chair a telephone, PC, and a cardboard box for files if I had to, but I do not think this would "fly" with most ESC employees today! GO FIGURE!
Of course, district management will claim it would take six million to modify Evergreen to make it acceptable as an administration site and therefore not practical.
Sort of like the more than three million spent to change Old Cedar Valley into Former Scriber Lake that was demolished a short time later.
Welcome back, Claire. Thank you for the detailed yet concise review.
Hey when I checked the "pissing people off" box, it's meant that the blog is pissing off all the right people!
yes... nice post..
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