With the school year less than a week away, United Teachers Los Angeles is calling on the Los Angeles Unified School District to implement urgent measures to protect students affected by the Lineage Logistics warehouse fire.
On Thursday, UTLA President Gloria Martinez sent a two-page letter on behalf of the union outlining 14 requests the district should implement to protect students, families and staff at schools within a three-mile radius of the burned-out cold-storage warehouse before the school year begins Aug. 12.
“As schools prepare to reopen, this incident underscores the need for LAUSD to strengthen emergency preparedness, improve environmental health protections, and respond swiftly to public health threats near school facilities. No student, educator or school staff member should have to worry about their exposure to hazardous substances and toxins while in the classroom,” Martinez said in a statement.
“Eastside school communities deserve more than assurances — they deserve an actionable plan that puts their health and safety first. LAUSD must act with urgency before our classroom doors open and implement the demands we have presented to ensure our school communities are protected from preventable health risks,” Martinez added.
An LAUSD spokeswoman said the district received UTLA’s letter and was reviewing it, but added the district has already been taking steps to ensure the safety of students near the burned-out warehouse.
“At Los Angeles Unified, preparing for a safe return to school means following the science, listening to public health experts, and working hand-in-hand with our school communities to make informed decisions that protect students and employees,” according to the district.
“… The health and safety of our students, employees, and families remains our highest priority. Los Angeles Unified has been proactive from the outset, working closely with public health, environmental, and emergency management agencies to assess conditions, monitor potential impacts, and implement protective measures where needed. Our established environmental health and wildfire response protocols include site inspections, air quality monitoring, enhanced cleaning, HVAC system inspections and filtration, and third-party environmental assessments when appropriate. We will continue to follow the guidance of public health experts and take any additional actions necessary to ensure our schools are safe for students and staff as we begin the school year.”
The UTLA letter urged Superintendent Andrés Chait and the district to take the following actions, among others:
— Test buildings, soil, water and air at LAUSD schools within a three-mile radius of the Lineage Logistics fire and, if necessary, within a five-mile radius;
— Thoroughly clean affected schools, provide clean water until testing is complete and address vermin safely;
— If a school is deemed unsafe, provide transportation for students to schools that have been tested and cleared;
— Increase the number of school nurses to monitor students for acute and chronic symptoms; and
— Join UTLA in calling for the permanent closure of the Lineage Logistics facility.
“Our demands reflect how important it is that we protect and prevent chronic exposure to the toxins left behind after this disaster. If LAUSD follows state law on HVAC testing and balancing, this will do the most to help prevent worsening of acute exposure symptoms, like breathing problems and eye irritation from smoke inhalation and odor, as well as serious issues with chronic exposures, such as endocrine disruption, cancers, and impaired learning abilities,” the letter reads.
“As families prepare to head back to school, we need to ensure that students, staff and communities are safe,” the letter concluded.
On July 31, LAUSD announced it had expanded efforts to clean and prepare campuses, with an “intense focus” on 54 schools within three miles of the Lineage Logistics warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St. A fire broke out at the facility June 17 and burned for about a week before firefighters brought it under control.
District officials said the schools received deep cleaning, air purifiers were installed in every classroom and filters were replaced in all air-conditioning systems.
“When extraordinary events, like the fire in Boyle Heights, affect our communities, we take every necessary step to ensure our schoolhouses are ready to welcome students back to environments that support learning, belonging and success,” Chait said in a previous statement. “It is a priority for me to continue to engage the community around our efforts, and that outreach will ramp up even more as we get closer to the first day of school.”
District officials said the Office of Environmental Health and Safety has led inspections and testing at all campuses to ensure they are free of toxins that could pose a risk to students and staff. The office, working with city and county agencies, said campuses are safe for students and teachers to begin the school year as scheduled.
“To date, we found no evidence of hazardous conditions that would pose a risk to students or staff. Even so, we will continue to verify conditions every day because there is no substitute for being thorough when it comes to the health and safety of our school communities,” LAUSD Director of Environmental Health and Safety Carlos Torres said in a statement.
LAUSD temporarily relocated summer programs at several schools near the Lineage warehouse during and immediately after the fire. District officials said they do not anticipate any relocations will be necessary when the school year begins.
District officials said school operations administrators have been working around the clock to develop contingency plans that can be implemented if conditions change.
The district has begun hosting a series of informational webinars for families in affected areas to provide updates from experts. Another webinar is scheduled for Monday.
Families with questions or requests for support are encouraged to call Los Angeles Unified Family Hotline at 213-443-1300. More information is available at east.lausd.org.