Mayor Skylar Peak seems to have heeded to numerous pleas from the community for the city to take on a larger role in the environmental scare at Malibu High School.
During Monday’s city council meeting, Peak is slated to ask his colleagues to stand behind him in urging the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to “conduct further source testing” on building materials at Malibu High School, Middle School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School.
If levels of PCBs or other toxins in building materials are found to be above federal thresholds, Peak wants the district to remove them immediately.
Thus far, the SMMUSD has tested air and dust samples in classrooms, but not building materials.
“PCBs do not belong in our schools,” the proposed resolution states. “…SMMUSD has fallen short in its efforts to fully inform the community and appropriately address the serious concerns of parents and school staff.”
Classes resumed on Aug. 19 and the district has deemed all buildings safe and reopened, but controversy continues to swirl as many suspect the pre-1979 buildings contain hazardous carcinogens known as polychlorinated biphenyls, which were used in building materials before they were known to be toxic.