Richmond’s Kennedy High School gets green light to open after toxic chemical concerns

By Andrea Nakano

After weeks of uncertainty, students at Richmond’s John F. Kennedy High School will start their classes on schedule after weeks after toxic chemicals were found underneath the campus.

On July 31st, that the West Contra Costa County Unified School District detected levels of PCE, also known as perchloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, in underground soil samples at the campus during renovation work. 

The district shut the school down out of an abundance of caution to determine whether it was safe for students and staff to come back, leaving many parents, nearby residents, and students very concerned.  

Mia was just a handful of people attending a community meeting on Thursday night on whether Kennedy High will be good to go for the first day of school. As an incoming freshman, the possibility of her new school being contaminated with a cancer causing chemical caught her off guard. 

“I was coming from Korematsu [Middle School in El Cerrito] and I wasn’t supposed to go to Kennedy, but I got transferred to Kennedy,” Mia said. “So, when I saw what was going on, I was a little nervous.”

But over the last couple of weeks, WCCUSD worked with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to see how toxic the levels are in the air. On Thursday night, district officials announced they got the all-clear to open the doors of Kennedy High.

“There is no need for concern here,” Liz Sanders, WCCUSD assistant superintendent said. “There is no need for concern about any immediate or long term health risks.”

Sanders says two areas of the school where levels of PCE were detected, the kitchen and metal shop classroom, will remain closed to students. DTSC believes that those levels are due to consumer products and not the toxic plume underground. While the district will review what products are being used, a mobile kitchen will be brought in to provide food to the students.

“We want families to know it’s always worthwhile to take student wellness very seriously and that part of why we acted swiftly they way we did,” Sanders said. “That’s part of why we are committed to being transparent. We are going to continue to be monitoring this issue with DTSC and we will continue to communicate with our families about that.”

While school will go on as planned, there are many questions that remain about the toxic plume and how it got there. The district says it will continue to monitor levels throughout the year. DTSC will look into finding the source and see how this plume can possibly shift through soil and water underground. 

For now, Mia is just glad that it’s safe to go to school.

“I’m honestly more relieved now because I won’t have to get changed to a different location,” she said. “I’m happy about that.”