From the Examiner titled "Storms delay Burlingame lead-removal project
Work to continue at high school as students return" "http://www.sfexaminer.com/articles/2006/01/05/peninsula/20060105_pe04_storm.txt

BURLINGAME Rains and the need for hand-digging has delayed work to remove lead from the grounds of Burlingame High School meaning the project won't be done until after students have returned from winter break, officials said Wednesday. Senior project manager Russ Gatschet said lead removal at the site just began this Tuesday and won't likely be finished for another week-and-a-half. Though the work was timed for when students would be away from the grounds, San Mateo Union High School District officials say no hazards will be posed to them upon their return to school next Tuesday. The consultants see absolutely no issue of concern in regards to the students being present,? Superintendent Samuel Johnson Jr. said. The area where lead is being remediated is surrounded by fencing.?

The San Mateo Union High School District discovered the removal was necessary when it studied the site in July 2003 in preparation for modernizing the facility, which was built in the 1920s. The investigation turned up polychlorinated biphenyls PCBs now thought to be the result of leaking coolant from an abandoned electrical transformer on the site, and lead, probably from the building's old paint, Gatschet said.The PCBs and the transformer have been removed. All such materials will be sent for disposal to the Kettleman Landfill in Coalinga, he said. Work on removing the lead has been delayed because crews could not continue through the rainstorms last week and the contracting company has decided to hand-dig around the perimeter of the school to avoid harming bushes there, he said. Gatschet said he didn't anticipate any further delays.The only factor affecting student safety that either Gatschet or Johnson could identify is the potential for additional truck traffic in the vicinity of the school.

Along with lead and PCBs, the 2003 investigation also turned up surprisingly high concentrations of arsenic on the grounds of the school. Removing the arsenic which will likely happen this spring, according to Superintendent Johnson could cost as much as $500,000, a sum the district will ask the state for help in paying through hardship funding, Gatschet said. The arsenic contamination might be the result of rodent bait used at least 30 years ago, Gatschet said. Though officials once thought redwood trees near the area might be affected by the contaminant, research has shown that arsenic does not get sucked up into the cell structure? of trees, he said.

– Written by Fiona