School soil test still a worry
Tue, Jan 8, 2008

By ELLEN ROBINSON
The Brunswick News

If there is the least bit of doubt, Bobbi Gearhart hopes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will re-test soil at Altama Elementary School for toxaphene, a carcinogen.

As the mother of three and president of the school's Parent-Teacher Association, she feels no stone should be left unturned when it comes to determining if the health and safety of children are at risk. The school at 5505 Altama Ave. is next to a federal Superfund site.

On the other hand, the Brunswick mother says, it's not time to push the panic button, either. More information is needed.

"I have no examples of students with any physical aliments, so I'm not overly concerned," she said. "But this is something the administration needs to follow up on. I do want a re-test if there is any possibility of a safety issue."
Answers are exactly what Michael Bull, superintendent of Glynn County Schools, intends to ask for when he meets this week with representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and Hercules. The EPA agreed to the meeting in response to a letter from Bull in October requesting that the federal government conduct a thorough soil test at the school.

"We just want to do the right thing," Bull said. "We will find out if more action is needed or if what has already been done is sufficient."
The Glynn Environmental Coalition, an environmental watchdog group, argues that more testing is needed. It contends that soil tests conducted in the past did not go far enough.

Altama Elementary School is adjacent to the Hercules 009 Landfill Superfund site where toxic wastes were removed in the 1990s. Hercules produced toxaphene, which is now banned worldwide, for nearly 40 years. The company stopped making it in 1980.

Daniel Parshley, project manager for Glynn Environmental Coalition, feels the test in 2006 was invalid because the focus was on groundwater, not the soil where the children play. Another more conclusive test is needed, he said.
"In 2006 the EPA didn't test for all 670 chemical components of toxaphene," Parshley said.

He said he is not the only one who feels that way.
"The EPA Office of Inspector General determined the pervious test to be inappropriate," he said.

On Monday, watching over fourth- and fifth-grade students playing during recess, Altama Elementary School Principal Juliann Rogers said her biggest concern is whether there could be any long-term impacts on the health of children.
"I'm eager to find out," Rogers said. "I guess we will just have to wait and see the outcome of the meeting.

"I haven't had any parents voice concerns, but I believe it's on the back of their minds."