Mercury-tainted gym floor saga continues – Payson Roundup

With the new school year well underway, the on-again, off-again saga of the mercury-tainted Pine Strawberry School gymnasium floor continues with few answers as to when the normally heavily-used facility will reopen to students and faculty.

At this time, it is difficult to anticipate a completion date for this project due to the many technical elements and requirements of the Arizona Schools Facility Board (ASFB), said former school principal-superintendent Linda ODell who continues to work for the district part-time, even though she officially retired in July.

Officials expected to complete the project by the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, but some teachers speculate it might not be done until well into the second semester

The removal of the old floor appeared complete in mid-summer, but installation of the new floor never began because, the mercury vapor levels exceeded the threshold established for installation of the new floor, said ODell.

Once the environmental testing company determines vapor levels are safe, installation of the new floor can begin. However, the company will not return to test for mercury until the opened gym space has been ventilated for at least two weeks.

The delivery of the floor materials and actual installation could take up to eight weeks.

In the meantime, the district sealed off the cafeteria, which is adjacent to the gym.

As for physical education classes, adjustments have been made to daily schedules to ensure students have the opportunity to participate in PE, said ODell.

Currently, PE teacher Dean Pederson holds classes outdoors. Once winter weather arrives, he will modify his curriculum for limited indoor space.

The ASFB is overseeing the grant-funded project, which includes excavation and replacing the original floor. In October 2015, officials determined the floor was emitting potentially harmful levels of mercury vapor, which can harm the nervous, digestive and immune systems.

In June, a crew from Sagebrush Restoration in Phoenix removed the original floor and began a diamond grinding process to remove mercury-tainted adhesive from the joints, ODell said.

Once finished with that task, project managers will await an OK from the ASFB so the Phoenix-based firm Sun Country Floors can install new flooring.

The new Elastiplus floor will not contain any mercury-based products.

The manufacturer, Conner Sports, advertises the floor as a seamless, poured-in-place polyurethane surface that exhibits excellent shock absorbent qualities.

The University of Idaho recently installed an Elastiplus floor in its student recreation center.

Campus Recreation Associate Director Gordon Gresch said it has exceeded all expectations.

The district will also install new bleachers.

Common problem

Pine Strawberry School is only one of many districts around the state with rubberized gym floors emitting mercury vapors.

In the past three years, ASFB has found 73 floors of concern in schools, hospitals and other institutions.

The St. David Unified School District first discovered the problem with the rubberized gym floors.

At Pine Strawberry School, officials discovered the mercury emissions when trying to repair cracks in the cement floor below the Tartan rubberized surface installed in 1988.

The district on Jan. 11, 2016 shut down the gym for about four months. The school board voted to reopen the facility after officials said tests showed mercury had not exceeded safe levels.

Students used the gym until May 22, 2017, when the current remediation project began. Originally, the district wanted only to repair the cracks in the floor. However, the ASFB board approved replacing it, including the concrete subfloor.

That decision led to the rediscovery of unsafe levels of mercury vapor, leading to the still open-ended remediation

Link:
Mercury-tainted gym floor saga continues - Payson Roundup