Tell Orleans Parish to Protect Children From Daily Lead Exposure in School
- by: AudubonMom
- recipient: Parents of Audubon Charter School & Orleans Parish Residents
OPSB plans to re-locate Audubon Charter School Elementary Children (Pre-K3 to Grade 3) to the Proposed Orleans Parish Annunciation Modular Campus on August 2011. They plan to conduct a partial lead remediation of the site - of the proposed playground area only. OPSB tested only this area, collecting a total of 43 soil samples. The results ranged from 630 - 7700 mg/kg (or ppm) for all collected samples. The current state and federal (EPA) soil lead standard is 400 mg/kg.
I urge you to protect the health and welfare of all New Orleans school children (this site will be used by other schools in the future as their buildings undergo renovation). I urge you to push to mitigate the entire vacant lot and not just approximately 1/4 of the site that will be used for the playground.
Studies show that lead exposure is harmful to all people; it is especially harmful to young children who can inhale or ingest the lead through dust particles or soil contact. Lead exposure can lead to problems with the development of the nervous system and other body processes where it can cause permanent learning and behavior disorders.
Let us not settle for "interim" controls such as covering with low lead clean soil followed by placement of sod. Let us request a permanent remediation involving soil replacement in the playground area and encapsulation by concrete in the parking lot & drop-off/pick-up areas.
Please protect our children from these harmful effects of lead and support lead mitigation on the entire future school site. Convenience should not trump safety.
http://audubonkidshatelead.wordpress.com
We the undersigned ask you to sign this petition to urge the Orleans Parish School Board to conduct a full lead/arsenic remediation of the proposed swing space on Annunciation St.
Currently, OPSB plans to remediate only the area set aside for play space (about 25% of the proposed site). Their tests for lead and other toxins in this area indicate high levels in some sections (see map on our blog: http://audubonkidshatelead.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/read-about-lead-in-soil-children/). Studies show that lead dust can be very hazardous to young children's neurological development (tendancy towards violent behavior etc).
Our children will spend 7 to 9 hours on this proposed site. For 9 months. About 165 days.
We want OPSB to:
1. Remediate and test the entire proposed site, not just the playground area which is 25% of the proposed site; or
2. Remediate the areas outside of the parking lot if OPSB elects to pave the parking lot (trapping any lead under asphalt or concrete). Parking lot is about 50% of the proposed site.
Thank you for your time. Together we can make a difference...for our children.
