Report Calls Attention to Schools' Seismic Safety

The principal at Robert Millikan Middle School in Sherman Oaks said he was surprised to hear that his school was on a list that "identifies older school buildings with potentially dangerous seismic hazards that require more detailed evaluation."

"This is the first time I'm hearing about this," said John Plevack, whose school was built about 50 years ago. "It certainly concerns me. What list are you talking about, and what are the hazards?" he asked.

The so-called "AB 300" list was created nearly a decade ago after the the state Legislature passed Assembly Bill 300, requiring the Department of General Services to conduct a "collapse risk" inventory of the state's K-12 school buildings.

The report ultimately concluded that more than 7,500 buildings, approximately 14 percent of the total square footage in the state's public K-12 schools, were not expected to withstand future earthquakes, and these structures  needed further evaluation to gauge needed repairs.  

Now, a 19-month California Watch investigation, which was released last week, has uncovered holes in the state's enforcement of seismic safety regulations for public schools and called attention to schools where seismic retrofits have not been completed or documented. 

The AB 300 list identified the gymnasium at Millikan Middle School, 5041 Sunnyslope Ave.,  as "not likely to perform well in an earthquake and in need of a detailed structural evaluation."

"That is not a pleasant thing to hear," Plevack said. "I didn't realize the gym had potential structural problems. ... Nobody has ever brought this up, but I'm going to check on this."

Neil Gamble, director of maintenance and operations at the Los Angeles Unified School District, confirmed that Millikan is on the AB 300 list. He said the gym has not had a seismic upgrade.

"However, that structure is not a safety risk," Gamble said. "If an earthquake happened, I would not have any problems if I was inside that gym.

"The top priorities for structural upgrades are classrooms. Gymnasiums are in the second category. But that building is not a hazard."

The AB 300 study in 2007 estimated the cost of bringing the gymnasium into full compliance with seismic safety codes at $1,642,716.

The principal said the school may be eligible for money from a bond measure approved by Los Angeles voters two years ago that was dedicated to pay for structural repairs to schools.

As to why the principal at Millikan was not informed of the seismic issue at the gymnasium, Shannon Faber, spokeswoman for LAUSD's facilities division, said the district reached out to principals back in 2005 when seismic safety previously surfaced as a media issue.

"But you know, principals change, so not everybody is up to date with the information," she said.

Liquefaction zone                                             

All seven public schools in Sherman Oaks are located in what geologists call a "liquefaction zone," according to information provided to California Watch.  A liquefaction zone is defined as an area in which violent earthquakes can loosen  water-saturated soil, essentially turning it into quicksand.

"Most of Sherman Oaks was built on the bed of the Los Angeles River," said Dr. Kate Hutton, staff seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. "The water table is high in that area, and if a major earthquake occurs, that could amplify the ground shaking and cause cracks in structures.

"In an earthquake, the soil could become water-logged and turn into quicksand," Hutton said. "I'm not an engineer, so I can't answer detailed questions about how structures would hold up."

The state has mapped out areas where liquefaction has occurred during earthquakes. Any construction within a liquefaction zone is supposed to be highy regulated.

Under state law, before a project can be permitted in a liquefaction zone, builders must make sure the soil is safe enough for construction. Since 1998, real estate agents have been required to inform buyers if a property is in a liquefaction zone.

When told that his school is in a liquefaction zone, Kiumars Arzani, principal at the Ivy Bound Academy Charter School in Sherman Oaks said, "That sounds ominous.

"But living with the possibility of an earthquake is part of life here," said Arzani, whose school is located at 15355 Morrison St.

Arzani said his school was just inspected by the Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety and that no structural problems were identified.

"That was in January, and that same week the Fire Department also inspected the school and, again, no issues were raised," he said.

 At Community Harvest Charter School, 5300 Sepulveda Blvd., the principal said she had never heard the term "liquefaction zone."

"This is not something I'm aware of," said  Jackie Gichohi. "Besides, I'm not the one who would deal with this kind of issue." She indicated that people in charge of facilities have the responsibility of checking on building safety issues.

At Champs Charter High School of Arts, Multimedia, and Performing, 6952 Van Nuys Blvd., Principal John Biroc said the liquefaction zone issue had never come up. "But hearing this, I must say it's a concern to me," he said.

Biroc said he was going to look into the earthquake safety issue now that it was brought to his attention.

The principals at the three other public schools in Sherman Oaks were unavailable for comment. The California Watch study claims that Riverside Drive Elementary, Sherman Oaks Elementary and Dixie Canyon Elementary are also in the liquefaction zone.

"We haven't done studies at all those schools," Gamble said. "We checked on the liquefaction issue at two schools in the zone and two schools on the edge of it. All four of the studies indicate little or no probability for liquefaction in those particular schools."

Gamble went on to say that liquefaction boundaries are a way for the district to know that further geotechnical studies are needed, particuarly for new construction of schools or modernization projects.

"In the whole district we have found very few areas with liquefaction problems," said Doc Nghiem, structural engineer at the LAUSD.

As to general risk of earthquake damage in Sherman Oaks, researchers  at the Southern California Earthquake Center at the University of Southern California claim that of all the communities in the south San Fernando Valley, Sherman Oaks was the most heavily damaged area during the Northridge earthquake in terms of the number of red-tagged homes.