[CPEO-BIF] Toxic schools debate

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Tainted Al Gore School Seen as 'Poster Child' for National Toxics Debate

By ELANA SCHOR
Greenwire/New York Times
September 10, 2010

For conservatives given to eye-rolling at the mere mention of Al Gore, 
the news seemed like a gift from the comedy gods: green groups warning 
of polluted soil beneath a Los Angeles school set to be named after the 
former vice president and climate change activist.

...

But the contamination concerns are far from punch-line fodder for the 
public health advocates decrying the risk of harmful vapor intrusion 
from beneath the $75 million school and questioning local officials' 
promises that the site is safe for students. That media coverage of the 
school has focused on the irony of its namesake does not deter its 
critics -- rather, they welcome the national focus on the broader issue 
of environmentally unhealthy schools.

"To the extent that anyone is talking about the safety and rationale of 
siting schools" in areas with lingering contamination, "whether it's 
conservatives or liberals ... I applaud them," said Jane Williams, 
executive director of the nonprofit California Communities Against Toxics.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/09/10/10greenwire-tainted-al-gore-school-seen-as-poster-child-fo-85716.html

--


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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