In response to the “Time to break ground” letter in last week’s paper:
1) Now under regulation of Toxic Substance Control Act, no building can take place at Malibu High School until there is a total evaluation and remediation of the contamination. Unacceptable levels of banned pesticides, PCBs, DDT, chlordane, lead, arsenic, cadmium, DDE, benzene and toluene have been discovered at MHS.
2) The Malibu Community Alliance (MCA) communicated to the school district and Coastal Commission that we will fully cooperate with any and all remediation efforts.
3) During the planning process, Malibu Park residents attend- ed the BB committee local site meetings and requested advanced lighting technology for the new ridgeline parking lot. We were ignored.
4)The MCA appealed the parking lot lighting and the district agreed in principle to better lights. However, the plan submitted last October was incompetent, specifying indoor lighting fixtures for the outdoor parking lot. The Coastal Commission told the district to correct the plan. The district has still not submitted any revisions.
5) Not a single one of the signers of last week’s letter have stood up with Malibu Unites to petition the school district or Malibu’s City Council to expedite the removal of toxins at MHS. MCA has actively supported the parents and teachers of Malibu Unites in their fight for healthy schools.
6) Information was withheld about the toxins from the public in August 2010.
7) Last week’s letter said they knew about the summer of 2011 hazardous soil removal before it happened. They said nothing about exposing children to concentrations of pesticides and PCBs that presented an unacceptable health risk (2010 Arcadis report). Today, the toxins are still not fully remediated.
The fact is that the people labeling others as “obstructionist” have created the largest road block for our community and the most significant health risks to the teachers and students.
You can help the MHS improvement project by writing to the School District and City Council telling them to prioritize remediation.
Steve Uhring