Results of Middle School Risk Analysis to Be Released

The results of a risk assessment conducted on the site where a new Hubble Middle School is proposed to be built will be released at 10 a.m. Friday in the Board Room of the School Service Center.  Representatives of Boelter and Yates, the Park Ridge company that conducted the study, will be joined by environmental attorney James A. Vroman to discuss details of the study.

The Board of Education hired Boelter and Yates on November 8, 2006 to conduct a risk assessment of the proposed site as it relates to the property’s proximity to the BP Naperville Campus.  The action followed the Board’s October 25 announcement that it had initiated plans that will put to rest any concerns residents may have about the safety of the 18-acre site and its proximity to the BP Naperville campus. The proposed site is north of the BP facility and west of Herrick Road between Warrenville and Galusha Roads in Warrenville.

The Boelter and Yates study included an examination of the following broad categories of hazards:  surrounding properties, radiation safety, air contaminants release scenarios, wind rose analysis, chemical management, accident management, transportation, traffic patterns, railroad proximity, site specific, analysis of existing Phase I and II reports, community emergency response capabilities, zoning, well water, and radon.

After analyzing the above hazards, Boelter and Yates conducted a comparative risk assessment by substituting familiar hypothetical hazards for the existing, but largely unfamiliar, hazards on or near the site.  This type of study puts in perspective unfamiliar hazards identified to be in proximity to the proposed school site.