Fire Mud At MHS Raises Parent Concerns
Written by 991KBU on December 14, 2018
Toxic fire mud on the fields at Malibu High is raising parent concerns.
Black mud has oozed down from destroyed houses in Malibu Park …. onto the school’s fields.
The mud is a mixture of ashes … and dirt … and it is being piled up on and near the school’s tennis courts.
That has some parents worried.
Tara Buran tells KBUU News her kid is playing soccer near what may be drying toxic ooze.
SLUDGE ;22 QQQQ SMELL IT DOWN ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD
“The school district is pushing to have kids in school, and they are not presenting a safe environment for staff and students.
“This all started because I dd not want my son to be actively playing on a field where the air might not be safe.
“The sludge dirt you know is still on the field … and they are kind of breathing it in.
“And you can still kind of smell it down on the football field.”
parent Tara Buran.
It has been tested and it is safe … says the school district.
The district is working with a geologist and with a certified industrial hygienist to test the mud.
Coaches have been directed to keep kids away from it.
District facilities manager Carey Upton tells KBUU News the mud has to be moved before it dries and becomes dust.
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Air monitors set up at Malibu High School show slightly higher levels of tiny particulates in the local air … over normal Malibu levels.
elevations.
Particulate matter at two levels …. less than 2.5 microns and less than 10 microns c… are slightly higher at Malibu High as compared with the South Coast Air Quality Management District ratings for Malibu.
This according to the school district.
But the measurements remain in the Good and Moderate range.
The air qwuality is far greater than that in most urban areas of Southern California …. far better than for example dowentown Los Angeles.
But it is also important to note that the air quality measurements are for particulates … in essence … dust.
And not for any of the nasty chemicals found in fire debris.
Santa Monica school officials say they are still calibrating their remote control air quality sensors.
They hope to start posting air quality measurements for all of Malibu’s schools next Monday.
