A lack of maintenance triggered a Dec. 21 chemical leak at Oxford High School, according to interim Superintendent James Connelly.
A drainage pipe in the school hadn’t been cleaned regularly, which allowed material inside the pipe to calcify. The pipe became blocked and there was a backup of chemicals into the school, Connelly told the school board at a meeting Friday.
The incident closed off part of the school and postponed after school activities. Chemicals also leaked in the girls’ locker room, according to Connelly.
The chemicals did not pose a threat to students or staff, officials said.
It could have been avoided with regular maintenance of the system, the superintendent said.
“The are budget implications here,” Connelly told the school board members, advising them that costs of maintenance by staff or perhaps by hired contractors will have to be added when the new budget request is compiled.
A private contractor was called in to clean up the chemical leak.
The cost of the cleanup is not known at this time because a bill has not been received from CleanHarbors, the Milford-based environmental company that performed the service.
“I would not even want to guesstimate, because I know those services don’t come cheaply,” Connelly said Tuesday.
In the meantime, he is requesting the construction manager of the high school project, O&G Industries, to provide some training for the maintenance workers so they know how to properly inspect the equipment and avoid cleanup costs in the future.
The system, which empties chemicals from classes into a neutralizing tank, is one of the features that make the new school school more advanced than most high schools.
However, the advanced systems require regular maintenance, Connelly said.
“We need service manuals and training. We need service people with some baseline knowledge, some people trained,” Connelly said.
Board of Education Chairman Rose McKinnon acknowledged at the meeting that these maintenance issues must be considered when formulating the new budget request.
