A REAL TIME BOMB! UNVENTILATED ELECTRICAL VAULT, GAS VAPORS POSE THREAT AT BELMONT.

Byline: Greg Gittrich Daily News Staff Writer

An underground electrical vault at the Belmont Learning Complex lacks a ventilation system, literally creating a ``time bomb'' that could trigger an explosion of methane gas rising from old petroleum wells beneath the site, the Daily News has learned.

The concrete vault houses electrical panels and switches for the complex - which, at more than $170 million, is the nation's costliest high school. It could fill with volatile vapors seeping into it from the oil- and gas-contaminated site, state environmental officials said Tuesday.

``You could call it a time bomb,'' said Frank Simpson, a spokesman for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

``The school district has made no allowance for venting the box that is underground. There is a high degree or potential for explosion at some time in the future.''

There have been no precise measurements of the vapors in the vault but state officials confirmed that volatile gasses are seeping into it.

Officials for the contractor, Turner/Kajima, did not return calls.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials downplayed the report but offered no explanation of how the vault could have been built without ventilation or other safeguards to prevent an explosion.

They stressed there is no electricity running through the vault components because construction had been halted in February after a long series of controversies.

``There are no ignition or explosion sources within the vault at this time,'' said Erik Nasarenko, a spokesman for the district's facilities division.

Nasarenko said all construction at Belmont, including the vault, stopped in February when the state launched its environmental review of the school site. ``We are not going to proceed in any respect with the vault without approval from the DTSC,'' he said.

In a May 7 letter to Yi Hwa Kim, deputy director of the district's environmental safety branch, the state advised that inspectors ``observed potential ignition and explosion sources within the vault.''

One day later, in an internal office memo, state project manager Jesus Sotelo noted that Turner/Kajima opted not to build the vault with ``explosive proof'' electrical components. Without the more expensive, but safer, components, sparks from electrical connections and switches could ignite methane and hydrogen sulfide vapors caught in the vault, Sotelo wrote.

Sotelo said Turner/Kajima never submitted plans to the state to build the vault on the project, which has been beset by delays, cost overruns and environmental problems.

According to Nasarenko, state inspectors discovered the potentially disastrous situation after Turner/Kajima asked inspectors to allow them to complete the electrical power supply system ``given its importance to the entire project.''

That request was denied, state officials said.

The discovery of the ``time bomb'' problem raised new questions about safety, planning and quality control on the project.

``Imagine what we'd find if state inspectors were constantly down there,'' said board member David Tokofsky. ``This dripping out of information runs the risk of not giving the state all the information up front so the district and the agency can make a work plan with controls and the proper safety measures.

``We can't endanger the lives of children in a rush to get kids off the bus and into a school with toxins,'' Tokofsky said.

David Koch, the district's chief administrative officer, reiterated Tuesday night that the district plans to comply with the state orders and will completely rebuild the vault or install a ventilation system if ordered to do so.

If electrical components are going to be placed into a potentially explosive atmosphere, the state requires builders to install explosion-proof fixtures, which cost up to 10 times more than normal components.

Daily News Staff Writer David R. Baker contributed to this story.

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Map: Belmont Learning Center