Teachers Concerned Dos Pueblos High Grounds May Cause Cancer

By the Santa Barbara Unified School District

An environmental assessment is slated to get underway at Dos Pueblos High School after some staff members expressed concerns about the number of employees who have been diagnosed with some form of cancer over the past several years.

Upon learning about this two weeks ago, Principal Bill Woodard, District Superintendent Dr. Hilda Maldonado, and Chief Operations Officer Steve Venz immediately began planning to address the concerns.

District leaders contacted Santa Barbara County Public Health Department for guidance and have also been in touch with the California Department of Public Health Department.

In addition, the district has engaged Geosyntec, a firm specializing in environmental risk assessments, to conduct an investigation. Geosyntec brings extensive experience assessing and analyzing environmental concerns and risks, including at schools.

Starting Monday, December 19, Geosyntec will conduct an environmental screening of the campus, including the Administration Building, to take place over winter break. Among other things, Geosyntec will conduct an array of tests to identify potential indoor and outdoor concerns, including an assessment of indoor air, outdoor air, and soil.

County Public Health will continue to provide guidance as district staff evaluate the Geosyntec report, including recommended follow-up actions. The information learned will be shared with staff and families.

“Santa Barbara Unified contacted the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department for technical assistance in determining how to evaluate the school (workplace) to assure it is a safe environment for all,” said the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department. “The Environmental Health Services Director and Health Officer provided guidance on what evaluation could be done for an occupational setting along with linkages to State Health partners.”

“As soon as we heard about the concerns from our staff, we started the process to bring in expert help to respond in ways that meet or exceed industry standards.  While there is no way of knowing at this point if an actual problem exists, we will thoroughly investigate, share the information learned, and take any needed remedial actions. The health and safety of our students, families, faculty, and staff is our top priority. Please know we are moving as quickly as possible to find answers,” said Dr. Hilda Maldonado, the district’s superintendent.

SBUnified

Written by SBUnified

Press releases written by the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD). Learn more at sbunified.org

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5 Comments

  1. You can’t find “this stuff” if you haven’t facts to posit. From what is in the article the whole adventure is based on some lay person’s suspicion that there have been “too many” incidents of cancer in the school family “over the past several years.” Pretty weak “stuff.” We don’t even have data that the types of cancers are related or similar in causation.

  2. You can’t find “this stuff” if you haven’t facts to posit. From what is in the article the whole adventure is based on some lay person’s suspicion that there have been “too many” incidents of cancer in the school family “over the past several years.” Pretty weak “stuff.” We don’t even have data that the types of cancers are related or similar in causation.

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