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Toxic Pesticide-Ridden Soil Detected At Site For New Bay Area School

MORGAN HILL (CBS SF) -- It's a toxin so bad that it's banned around the world.

Kimberly Beare, a spokeswoman for the Morgan Hill Unified School District, said "we found a number of toxins in the soil actually."

The Morgan Hill Unified School District made the discovery because that's where they plan to build an elementary school.

But in the contaminated soil is a pesticide called dieldrin that is now banned in most of the world and linked to many health problems, including cancer and Parkinson's.

Beare said, "it's very, very toxic and it was used many years ago when it was a cherry orchard out there so it's something that we're, you know, trying to figure out how to get rid of, if it's even possible to get rid of."

Beare said the school district is waiting on a state agency to tell them how to clean the soil so they can start designing the school that's expected to serve 600 students.

"Our kids go to junior high in San Jose along with a lot of other Morgan Hill kids," said Jeff Muhleman who lives across the street from the proposed site of the new school.

"It's a great neighborhood we've been here about ten years," Muhleman said.

Muhleman doesn't think twice when his kids do yard work at their Morgan Hill home, but he doesn't let them near the empty piece of property just across the street.

Muhleman said he's surprised by the toxicity of the field by his house.

"You don't think of it as contaminated by pesticide, although I suppose it would make sense because they were growing crops out there," Muhleman said.

He said Morgan Hill definitely needs more schools and said he's hopeful that the field will be cleaned up.

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