BOARD CONSULTS TOXICOLOGIST; EXPERT TO OVERSEE SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

The controversy over portable classrooms - compounded by the historic use of local land for agriculture and munitions operations - has spurred the Hart school district to hire a toxicologist to oversee construction projects.

The Hart school board has contracted with Peter Weiner, a toxic substance control consultant, to oversee environmental issues at five potential school sites. Weiner will receive up to $8,000 per site, with the money to be reimbursed from the state building fund, officials said.

Weiner would be involved with Golden Valley High School in Canyon Country, Rio Norte Junior High School in Valencia, a junior and senior high school on Stevenson Ranch and a high school in West Ranch.

``We're interested at looking into a host of things, many of which wouldn't be a shock to most people,'' school board President John Hassel said Monday. ``We have questions relating to the Golden Valley site. We're mainly concerned with its historical use and want to make sure of its viability.''

He added: ``The other question, of course, is the portables.''

Issues surrounding the Golden Valley site pertain to chemical residue left behind from decades of manufacturing explosives at the former Bermite Munitions Plant, as well as 14 capped oil wells on the property. Both issues have been identified in the first draft of an environmental impact report.

A developer is working with city planners on a plan to clean the land so it meets standards for future development, including as a school site. Field workers from the state Department of Toxic Substance Control also are assessing the property and recommending solutions.

With stricter state standards evolving on school site acquisition, district Superintendent Robert C. Lee advised the school board to hire the consultant to help manage environmental assessments and prepare land purchase applications.

Weiner's hiring also comes at a time when using remediated land for school sites is subject to tremendous scrutiny.

The most dramatic example is the Belmont Learning Center in Los Angeles, where hazardous levels of methane gases from a former oil field on the site have put the future of the $200 million project in jeopardy.

Another recent example in Los Angeles is Francis Polytechnic High School, where benzene and other cancer-causing chemicals are believed to have been found. The Los Angeles Unified School District is working to determine if poisonous gases still remain from the defunct Sheldon-Arleta Landfill.

Although oil wells were found under the proposed Golden Valley site, Hassel dismissed drawing comparisons between Belmont and the local school. Having Weiner on board to address toxicology issues will answer such questions, he said.

``I'm not one to give in to hysteria,'' Hassel said. ``Other than definite or conclusive proof there's another Chernobyl on our hands, I foresee there'll be some remedies, within economic feasibility, to remediate the land so it's safe for a school.''

School officials also noted that the state further toughened its requirements, so each school-site acquisition application must be submitted to the state toxics department. The agency has the authority to approve school sites, or order any necessary cleanups.

Weiner also will look at construction projects that would include portable classrooms.

The controversy over portable classrooms continues to stir after parents questioned whether student and teacher illnesses were caused by poor air quality inside the structures. A local doctor has said that some children who attended classes in portables became ill with abnormal levels of toxics in their blood or mold spores in their lungs.

In the Saugus Elementary Union School District, where the outcry has been loudest, the school board in recent months called in both the state Department of Health Services and the Environmental Protection Agency to test 15 of its 170 portables. The district also hired a consultant to study portables.

Weiner, who holds degrees in law and economics, is described by school officials as having a broad environmental practice in the area of real estate transactions, hazardous waste management, property cleanup, air and water quality, occupational health standards, environmental impact reports, pesticides registration and legal proceedings.

In addition to teaching at law schools throughout the state, Weiner previously worked for the state Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Department of Industrial Relations.