School Dept. Tells Parents: Central School construction will be as safe as possible
Published on July 19th, 2000
Stoneham, MA - Mike Clark of Alexandra Construction, the general contractor for the Central School, said that the contaminated soil will be out and the foundation in before
Sept. 1.
Residents are concerned about air quality around the site and the adjacent Middle School and the transport and storage of contaminated soil.
Soil removal
Jim Luker of Gale Associates of Pembroke is in charge of the soil testing. The soil adjacent to the Central Street school site along a former railroad bed has tested for levels of arsenic and other carcinogens.
While the 2,800 cubic yards of contaminated soil from the railroad bed and the 4,000 cubic yards of clean soil from the school footprint are removed, a dust policy will be in effect. Air monitors will run while crews work, and the entire site will be wet down in the evenings. Contaminated soil will be put in covered trucks and taken to the Stevens Street dump. At the dump, on a paved area more than 100 feet from the brook, the soil will be placed on a plastic tarp with a plastic cover. After no more than 30 days covered trucks will take the soil to a site accepting contaminated materials.
John DeGeorge of Franklin Street echoed several citizens' concerns at a July 12 School Building Committee meeting when he asked if the town would rope off or label the contaminated soil at Stevens Street.
Town Administrator Jeff Nutting said the town would.
Alexandra has not yet hired the subcontractor for soil removal, but Clark assured citizens at the July 12 meeting that the only firms in the running are specialists in the field with all the proper licenses.
Terri Ghannam of Green Street wanted the town to notify people along the route when the trucks cart the contaminated soil through town.
Building Committee members said a general notice of the route may go to the newspapers.
Air quality
Scott Green of the Department of Environmental Protection said that the standard set for the maximum allowable level of dust on this project was calculated with children in mind.
"This is a much higher standard than OSHA requires employers to provide for workers," Green said.
The air monitors test for dust — clean or contaminated — not arsenic or other chemicals.
Luker said Gale will be conducting a series of "wipe tests," before, after and during the project, to analyze the level of contaminants in dust found inside the Middle School.
If unsafe levels are found, work stops and Gale, DEP and Alexandra figure out how to clean up the school and keep it safe for students' return.
Superintendent Joseph Con-nelly said that shutting the HVAC system of the Middle School off during summer construction should help.
"If the work is not done by Sept. 1, construction will delay until the next school vacation," Connelly said.
A few more concerns
Cheryl Walsh of Brookbridge road recommended in a letter to the Superintendent that the Middle School vents be blocked during construction, not just shut off, so that dust cannot settle inside the system.
Walsh also suggested a professional cleaning of the Middle School before the beginning of the school year.
In her letter, Walsh asked the School Department to direct school nurses to carefully monitor respiratory illnesses at all new schools as another precautionary measure.
More School news: New positions
A search committee led by Superintendent Connelly has narrowed a pool of 26 applicants for the position of Administrator of Finance and School Operations down to seven prospective candidates.
The committee will narrow the list of seven to two or three and then conduct public interviews before the School Committee in early August, Connelly said.
The advertised salary range was high 70s to low 80s, in thousands of dollars per year.
An assistant facilities manager will also be hired for next year at $32,000 to $37,000 per year. Applications for the position are due this week.
The resignation of Business Manager Don Simpson and retirement of Special Services Director Frank Angelosanto, both at the end of the 2000 school year, made room for this most recent "reorganization," as the School Department says.
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