[CPEO-BIF] PEER calls for Clifton High School (NJ) probe

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility News Release 
(www.peer.org)

For Immediate Release: May 20, 2008


PROBE CALLED FOR IN NEW JERSEY TOXIC HIGH SCHOOL FIASCO - Inspector 
General Asked Why "Kiddie Kollege" Law Failed Clifton High School

Trenton - Conversion of a polluted former industrial site in Clifton 
without environmental testing shows that legislation enacted last year 
in the wake of similar scandals from toxic-laden schools and day-care 
centers is not working, according to Public Employees for Environmental 
Responsibility (PEER). PEER today asked New Jersey's Inspector General 
to determine why anti-pollution rules were set aside by state and local 
environmental and educational officials.

The $11 million high school annex for 500 students in Passaic County is 
located in an old industrial site which used more than 50 types of toxic 
chemicals, including pesticides, arsenics and a host of volatile 
organics. Despite this history, the school district did not perform a 
required "due diligence" investigation into potential hazards before 
purchasing the property. In addition, according to an analysis of the 
Clifton case filed by PEER:

    * The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) improperly 
allowed local construction to begin prior to certifying that the entire 
site required "no further action" to clean it up;
    * A stream running behind the property was not tested for 
contamination; and
    * Soil samples were limited to only certain pollutants in selected 
locations.

"What is going on at the Clifton high school is precisely what the 
highly touted reforms enacted just a few months ago were supposed to 
prevent," stated New Jersey PEER Director Bill Wolfe, referring to the 
"Kiddie Kollege" legislation, named after a day-care center was found to 
be operating in a mercury-laden former thermometer factory. "We want the 
Inspector General to look into this case, name names and hold 
responsible officials accountable; otherwise we can expect school 
construction debacles like this to recur on a regular basis."

In a previous report, the Inspector General determined that New Jersey 
has spent nearly $330 million to purchase environmentally contaminated 
lands found by to be "patently unsuitable" for schools, including a 
radioactive former Manhattan Project facility and a Superfund site. This 
latest experience in Clifton suggests that the underlying flaws in the 
school construction program remain unabated.

One aspect of the case PEER is asking the Inspector General to review is 
private meetings between elected officials who were promoting the 
project and top DEP officials. It is unclear whether DEP improperly 
expedited the school project in response to political pressure.

"The safety of a high school should not be hashed out behind closed 
doors with politicians without the parents present," added Wolfe. "I am 
utterly amazed that New Jersey is still putting its children into 
facilities built on some of the nastiest toxic pits in the state."

...

For the original news release and links to other documents, go to
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1048

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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