Environmental School Built on Toxic Soil

Los Angeles - A new LAUSD school dedicated to environmental studies is set to open in Los Angeles on Monday, despite concerns about environmental safety. The Carson-Gore Academy of Environmental Sciences is a state of the art school that took five years and 75 million dollars to make.

The elementary school was named in honor of biologist Rachel Carson and former vice president turned environmentalist Al Gore, but public health advocates say Carson-Gore is an environmental mistake.

Jane Williams, California Communities Against Toxics (CCAT):

"This school site is horribly contaminated ... there is an operating oil well on one side of the school, an active gas station with leaking gas tanks on the other side and in front of the school is a gas pipe line."

The school district acknowledges there was contamination on the Washington Blvd property, but in an urban setting like Los Angeles, they say, building on a so-called dirty site is common and the problems have been fixed. Gigi Graciette has more in this video report.

Watch Gigi's video report in the media player.