Lookout Staff

May 15, 2024 -- State officials on Friday will begin accepting comments on a plan to remove contaminated soil from a portion of McKinley Elementary, School District officials announced this week.

The draft Removal Action Workplan (RAW) released by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) outlines options to remove the soil from an approximately 1-acre parking on the eastern portion of the school.

"Currently, there are no immediate risks associated with the contamination found in the soil," District officials said.

"The goal of the proposed cleanup is to ensure that the Site is safe for future redevelopment and is protective of human health and the environment."

The plan proposes the "use of a soil cap, asphalt/concrete and Vapor Intrusion Mitigation System to prevent potential future risks to human health or the environment," officials said.

Plans for the site -- which has been been used as a parking lot since the campus was built in the 1920s -- include constructing a building, District officials said.

The DTSC report comes the School District tested soil and soil vapor samples at the site last year that detected the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), mainly tetrachlorethylene (PCE) and Benzene, in the soil vapor and arsenic in soil above regulatory guidelines.

The District also tested air samples inside the adjoining school buildings that "indicated no detections of PCE above regulatory guidelines and detections of Benzene similar to those in outdoor air samples."

A second round of tests conducted in December and January confirmed the initial results, officials said.

"The soil vapor data suggests that the dry cleaner located across Chelsea Avenue to the east could be a potential source of PCE contamination at the Site," District officials said.

DTSC will host a virtual community meeting June 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. to provide information and to accept public comments. for a meeting link visit https://bit.ly/McKinleyES

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has reserved the McKinley Elementary School’s auditorium at 2401 Santa Monica Boulevard for those that don’t have access to Zoom.