Pasadena Unified cites public health expert in quelling concern over contaminated soil

Pasadena Unified School District Superintendent Elizabeth Blanco, Sunday, May 18, acknowledged rising concern from parents about the results of recent soil testing, which found 18 district sites with elevated levels of heavy metals in soil.

Sites that tested for at least one area with elevated levels were: Allendale, Altadena Arts Magnet, Blair, Field, Jefferson, John Muir, Longfellow, Madison, Marshall, Octavia Butler, San Rafael, Washington STEM, Webster, Cleveland, Hodges, LaCasita, the District Service Center and the district’s main office.

Muir High School baseball field and softball field in Pasadena on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. High school baseball and softball teams in the Pasadena Unifield School District were told Monday not to use the infield dirt surfaces for practices or games while the PUSD works with the Pasadena Public Health Department to test lead levels in the soil of the dirt surfaces. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

PUSD conducted its own soil testing after a Los Angeles County soil study found elevated levels of lead in the soil of standing homes downwind of the Eaton fire. Subsequent phases of the study also found elevated lead levels at homes where debris had been cleared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In her message Sunday, Blanco acknowledged the concerns raised by parents and the general public in response to the results that included elevated levels of lead, arsenic, chromium, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins/furans.

“While some PUSD soil test samples exceeded California state lead screening levels, most were at levels where the risk to human health is minimal, especially when public health safety precautions are followed,” Pasadena Public Health Department Acting Health Officer Dr. Parveen Kaur said in Blanco’s statement. “In areas that exceeded the screening level, common sense measures such as restricting access and adding ground cover will reduce potential risk of exposure.”

Los Angeles County Public Health released findings from a soil sampling study done in the wake of the Eaton and Palisades fires. (Courtesy of Los Angeles County Public Health)

Blanco said some test results are still pending and that campus maps will be updated with additional results. The district has restricted access to areas on campuses with contaminated soil and Blanco asked the community to not disturb the soil at any campus or take any action to cover with mulch or compost.

The following steps will be taken in response to the results, Blanco said:

-Outdoor areas with impacted soil will be closed and clearly marked and secured to prevent access.

-Any necessary remediation will be completed before the new school year starts.

-More testing will be done before and during the necessary remediation process.

“We know how important outdoor spaces are to our students for play, for connection, and for learning,” Blanco said. “And we know how unsettling it can feel when those spaces are in question.”