Let Them Play in Poison
In the case of Jefferson Middle School, for example, some state regulators considered [Barry] Groveman an obstructionist. “He would question what we wanted to do and try to get by with the minimum safety review,” asserted one midlevel administrator with the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, who requested anonymity. “I hear his speeches about how environmentally good he is, and I didn’t experience that.”
–LA Weekly, March 1, 2000
In much the same way that a Google search for Jonathan Levey brings up my site, so does a search for Barry Groveman.
For those readers who are debating whether Barry Groveman deserves your support, I would ask you to consider the following episode in his history as a lawyer for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
In 1998, tests showed that the soil at the Jefferson Middle School in South Central Los Angeles contained the carcinogen chromium-6 at levels 540 times the limit allowed by law. This shouldn’t have been a surprise, since the land had been the site for a World War II defense plant, furniture manufacturers, metal plating operations and a gas station. But, according to a state audit, LAUSD not only failed to properly assess the contaminants, but they also withheld information from the state in order to receive state construction money.
How did Groveman respond to the state’s findings? According to the LA Times, he accused critics of spreading hysteria and maintained the school was “completely safe.” Even after LAUSD admitted the toxic cleanup was not working, he told the Daily News “you could double [the levels of methylene chloride] and assume it would not be a health risk.” And he rejected the demands of parents and elected officials, like Assemblyman Scott Wildman, who wanted the school be closed until the district could guarantee it was safe.
Is this a man you should trust with your children or your environment?
P.S. Because of spam, all comments to this blog have to be approved before I allow them to be posted. But if Barry Groveman wants to respond to the description of the incident above, I hereby commit to printing his full, unedited response.
