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  • Statement From Monroe School District On Toxins Lawsuit

    Enviado por

    KING 5 News
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    KING

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    Statement from Monroe School District on toxins lawsuit

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    KING

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    166 visualizações5 páginas

    Statement From Monroe School District On Toxins Lawsuit

    Enviado por

    KING 5 News
    KING

    Direitos autorais:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Baixe no formato PDF ou leia online no Scribd
    Sinalizar o conteúdo como inadequado
    de 5
    BN Patterson Buchanan @ Fobes & Leitch inc. rs sean ronruano ‘TOLL FREE 900.722.3815 Starie, waaay Foto. ok 7204 privcirats, Associares ee Mice A‘Patrsoatt im, Anhoney* =F Hadhon Cn Pte + plan Pence Bachna’ Kren antenip COE. tascet Mathew F Quigg Aa ie Daren abet Timothy Campbee> $2081 an Samana Sen LAs simch eins Charles PE. Leite? Nicholas A.Carton—‘Kevind Ray Eshan Siti {Aisin or Ya Dona Ant’ Dani P Cromer” Sinan King. Tala Stas sone aoeeeenaae Fal ar Haley E. Moore Kristina B, Terrien Kein, Taal Lavra ¥, Davis Keg ENooan Erb Theva ‘Angela N. Marslain® Daniele) Howard Timothy Parker Andrew M, Weinberg? Mice! T. Kitson OF COUNSEL Chale W. Lind October 6, 2017 TRANSMITTED VIA EMAIL Mr. Sean J. Gamble Priedman Rubin 51 University St., Ste. 201 Seattle, WA 98101 Re: Sky Valley Education Center - Monroe School District, et. al Denial of Tort Claims Dear Mr. Gamble: We represent Monroe School District (“the District”) in relation to the 36 tort claim notices submitted on behalf of your clients on or about August 9, 2017. The tort claim letter you submitted with each claimant's notice alleges the District was negligent in its maintenance and inspection of Sky Valley Education Center (*SVEC”). Citing a 2016 report, you misleadingly state that the SVEC “became contaminated with toxins,” alluding to PCB exposure as a cause for health concerns of the claimants, and assert that each claimant is entitled to $20,000,000.00. Your conclusion is inaccurate, The District has been transparent in its efforts to ensure that SVEC is a safe place for students, parents, and District employees. ‘The District has proactively and aggressively worked to address complaints of alleged potential health concerns at SVEC by: ‘+ Engaging several environmental consulting agencies to perform testing, © Cooperating with local enforcement agencies like Snohomish District Health to ensure compliance with state and federal laws, * Replacing aging portions of the building, and e083 Mr. Sean J. Gamble October 6, 2017 Page 2 ‘* Implementing cleaning and storage procedures to minimize any risk of harm to those who enter the building, For these reasons, and as further explained below, your clients’ claims are denied. A. The District Has Addressed All Environmental Health Concerns Identified at Sky Valley Education Center Since air quality concerns were reported to the District during the 2013-2014 school year, the District has worked closely with state and local agencies, as well as environmental engineers to address potential health risks at SVEC. The District has provided information to parents and staff throughout this process regarding potential safety issues identified in the building, and advised of the steps taken to address all issues that were identified. Below is a summary of some of the many steps the District has taken to address issues identified through testing over the past several years: ‘© During the 2013-2014 school year the District worked with the State Department of Health to identify possible contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”), In compliance with Environmental Protection Agency recommended procedures, the District cleaned all light ballasts where PCBs were identified. 254 light fixtures were inspected, and 67 ballasts were replaced. © In November 2014, the District hired environmental consulting firm EHC- International to perform indoor air quality tests. These tests indicated that there were slightly higher than optimal CO2 levels due to outside air dampers being closed, fan in classrooms being turned off or down, and the central exhaust system being shut off due to movement of air causing doors to slam, These issues were corrected immediately and a follow-up test indicated significantly decreased levels of CO2. No evidence of mold or airborne fungal particulate were found in the rooms assessed © On December 4, 2015, Assistant Superintendent John Mannix sent a letter to the staff and families of SVEC, notifying them of all remediation measures and precautions ‘that were being taken to facilitate a safe environment. The District removed carpet, checked all HVAC appliances, continued monitoring CO2 levels, and co-operated with the Snohomish County Health Department regarding indoor air quality monitoring. The letter also advised that another $1 million would be budgeted towards monitoring and remediation if necessary In January 2016, PBS Engineering and Environmental, Inc., performed an indoor air quality investigation at SVEC, and issued a report, Concerns regarding air flow and filtration, storage of cleaning materials and other chemical agents were promptly addressed, and two sinks where lead was identified were removed or replaced. Mr, Sean J. Gamble October 6, 2017 Page 3 + PBS Engineering also conducted PCB testing during its January 2016 investigation, Surface testing revealed that two of 76 surface samples had detectable concentrations of PCBs, one in the gymnasium, and one in Room D of the Annex Building. ‘The sample from the gym did not exceed EPA criteria, A floor tile in Room D, which exceeded EPA thresholds, was believed to have been contaminated from a leaking light fixture. ‘The tile had already been cleaned and sealed, and was then permanently removed and replaced. * PBS also identified PCB-containing caulking around windows and doors, but found there was no significant concern for potential “off-gassing,” and that there was no need to remove the caulking unless it began to degrade and fall off. ‘The District took precautionary measures in summer of 2016, and painted the PCB-containing caulk with epoxy to prevent any direct contact. For air quality testing, PBS collected 68 samples from various rooms at the SVEC. 13 of the 68 samples had detectable concentrations of PCBs. Six of the 13 samples had PCB levels that were below the EPA threshold. Four of the rooms showed PCB levels that were above acceptable EPA standards for children less than three years old, and three rooms showed levels that were above EPA standards for children less than six years old. Asa result, the District asked that pregnant women and children under the age of six avoid the entire SVEC facility for the remainder of the 2015- 2016 school year. The building was open to all individuals for the 2016-2017 school year once these areas were thoroughly cleaned to minimize exposure in the affected rooms, © Inthe Spring of 2016, District maintenance staff received training on PCB clean-up, remediation and disposal to ensure EPA standards were followed for all fixture removals and cleanings. District maintenance staff cleaned all light fixtures at SVEC, and PBS returned for additional testing. Throughout the spring of 2016, the District also completed extensive remediation for asbestos, fungal, and housekeeping concerns, Staff and families were provided written updates every month, and often several times a month on the progress of the remediation measures. «PBS continued to conduct testing, and Snohomish County District Health continued to provide oversight throughout the 2016-2017 school year. PBS did not conduct any tests where verifiable amounts of PCBs were detected above acceptable EPA standards.! ' One set of air quality tests in December 2016 revealed two anomalies showing PCB levels above the accepted EPA standards, which had never been detected previously. Re-testing revealed that there were no detectable PCBs in these areas Mr. Sean J. Gamble October 6, 2017 Page 4 © On July 24, 2017, Fulerom Environmental Consulting took 27 air samples and 17 wipe surface samples from the SVEC. All results showed no detectable levels of PCBs. B, According to EPA publicly available standards, the PCB Levels at Sky Valley Education Center Are Not Sufficient to Cause the Harms Alleged ‘The EPA has provided guidance regarding PCB levels in schools. To do so, the EPA has calculated exposure levels for evaluation that are intended to maintain overall PCB exposures below the oral reference dose (RAD) of 20 ng PCB/kg body weight per day. An RAD is an estimate of a daily exposure to the human population that is likely to be without an appreciable risk of harmful effects during a lifetime. The EPA calculated the school indoor air PCB concentrations that would result in an estimated total exposure equal to the RED, when all of the other school and non-school PCB exposure pathways were set to average background levels, These calculated indoor air concentrations are the Exposure Levels for Evaluation of PCBs in Indoor School Air and are provided in the table below available on the EPA website. They were derived to serve as health protective values intended for evaluation purposes. The EPA notes that these values “should not be interpreted nor applied as “bright line’ or ‘not-to-exceed’ criteria, but may be used to guide thoughtful evaluation of indoor air quality in schools. Exposure Levels for Evaluating PCBs in School Indoor Air (ng/m3) | Age: 12- | Age: 15- ; Age: 1- | Age:2- | Age:3- eee 15

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