About six months after a diesel spill at Point Higgins Elementary School, the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School district is still working to monitor and maintain air quality on the property.
In mid-August, around 2,750 gallons of diesel spilled below ground at the school. The campus and nearby areas were closed off, and the start of school was delayed by almost a week.
In late January, the school district declined to respond to multiple requests for comment about the spill and remediation efforts after releasing a statement telling the community to contact the school directly with questions. Today, interim superintendent Sheri Boehlert said in an email that she can talk with KRBD next week.
The borough, which owns the property, hired Juneau-based environmental engineering firm Nortech for remediation and ongoing air and water quality testing.
Jason Ginter is with Nortech. He spoke at a recent school board meeting, and said the company is continuing testing and has shared all data and information with the Alaska Department of Health and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
“They came back with their determination that so long as those numbers are stable within that range, the school is safe to occupy,” Ginter said. “Of course, we’re continuing to monitor, and anytime there has been a problem noted at the school, we’ve returned and performed some more monitoring.”
The ongoing efforts come at a cost. The borough assembly initially appropriated $3 million for the Nortech contract. That increased to $3.5 million at an assembly meeting in Feb. 2.
Nortech visited the school property multiple times in recent months, and left when they found the air and water quality levels to be within the thresholds for safety. During those visits, the company conducted air quality assessments twice daily. Contaminants have been found in unoccupied areas of the property, like in the basement and generator room, but the site has been safe for regular school operations.
But for the last few months, they said, there have been complaints about the air on the property.
In January, the borough sent out a statement saying that someone who visited Point Higgins for around two hours later received medical care for possible overexposure to diesel fumes. The district declined to answer where the person was on the property or why they were there, but principal Todd Henke told KRBD it was not a student or staff member.
Nortech visited the site immediately following the report and found the occupied portions of the school, like classrooms and common areas, had air quality levels safe for occupancy.
The company has submitted a proposal to the borough and the Department of Environmental Conservation to install a permanent vapor barrier and Vapor Extraction System in the storage rooms. Ginter said in a letter to the borough that they are hopeful that installation can happen over Spring Break, which is in mid-March.
