Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida – Base leadership learned that there exists a thin strip of potentially contaminated soil along the length of a temporary fence at Tyndall Elementary School. 

Tyndall Elementary School was constructed on the site of a WWII aerial gunnery school training range. The training at this range involved using turret-mounted machine guns reconfigured to fire 12-gauge shotgun shells at clay targets thrown from fixed towers. Both the lead shot and the remnants of clay pigeon targets are now considered to be potentially hazardous. The Air Force completed a $5.5 million remediation of soil at the school in 2009.

Tyndall’s Civil Engineering Squadron has discovered a portion of the perimeter fence at Tyndall Elementary school was inadvertently moved from its pre-hurricane position following the destruction of the fence by Hurricane Michael. The movement of the fence placed un-remediated soil within the fence line.

Letter to Parents:   July 31st, 2019

Dear Parents, Guardians, Students, Faculty and Staff of Tyndall Elementary School,

The health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff is a top priority for Bay District Schools
and Tyndall Air Force Base. We are writing to provide you information regarding an issue we
learned about this week at Tyndall Elementary School.         

Issue: 

Yesterday, base leadership learned that there exists a thin strip of potentially contaminated soil along the length of a temporary fence at Tyndall Elementary School. In 2009, Tyndall AFB completed a $5.5 million environmental cleanup of WWII-era lead shot and remnants of clay pigeon targets on the grounds of the school. After Hurricane Michael knocked down a majority of the base fence line, Tyndall let an emergency contract to put up temporary fencing at key locations, including Tyndall Elementary School. In some areas at the school, the temporary fence went up slightly offset from the pre-storm fence location to avoid storm
debris. In some areas, this offset placed the temporary fence outside the 2009 remediated area. From the time Tyndall elementary School reopened on December 10, 2018 until the end of the school year in May, children attending the school may have had access to this potentially contaminated soil. However, the likelihood of exposure to unhealthy levels of lead during this time period is minimal. Last night, the base notified school district officials, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of this discovery. Today, we are notifying you as well. Background Tyndall Elementary School, constructed in the 1950s, sits on a portion of Tyndall AFB originally used as a shotgun range in the 1940s to train gunners during World War II. In May 2009, Tyndall AFB sampled the soil at our school in response to a Department of Defense directed firing range cleanup program. These samples indicated lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in several areas were above residential screening levels. The lead comes from the lead shot, and the PAHs come from the clay targets used during the WWII-era training. Attached is updated information on both lead and PAH exposure.

Who is affected?

There is a possibility that children may have come in contact with the potentially contaminated soil from December 10, 2018 to the end of the school year in May 2019. In 2009, the Center for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) stated that “Children and adults who play or work at various outside locations at the Tyndall Elementary School may have been exposed to lead by accidentally eating lead after getting lead containing soils on their hands and then touching their mouth or eating food with unwashed hands, intentionally eating soil containing lead, or lead pellets, or breathing lead in kicked-up dirt or soil.”

What is the concern?

Although the average amount of lead and PAHs in soils at the school is not likely to be a health hazard, there may be areas with higher levels. The medical results from children and personnel in 2009 indicated no immediate or long-term health hazards from the Tyndall Elementary School area. Our main concern is that children may have found lead shot or remnants of clay targets interesting, and may be more likely to pick up and play with the material increasing theircontact and risk for harm.

What is being done?

Tyndall AFB will install a new fence to re-establish the pre-Hurricane Michael buffer between school grounds and the potentially contaminated soil. This will be complete prior to school opening on August 12, 2019.

What should I do?

Parents with lead and/or PAH safety concerns should contact the Tyndall AFB Public Health Flight at (850) 283-7138, or the Bay County Public Health Department at (850) 872-4720. Parents of children with no military affiliation may choose to contact their primary care physician team to inquire about laboratory testing. Parents of military affiliated children may contact the Tyndall
AFB clinical laboratory for screening if desired. We have attached informational flyers to this letter that provide detailed information regarding risks associated with exposure to lead and PAHs. The flyers outline procedures for accessing medical screening and provide contact numbers for both the Bay County and Tyndall AFB public health agencies. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our public health or regulatory partners listed in Attachments 1 and 2.
Sincerely,

WILLIAM V. HUSFELT, III
Superintendent, Bay District Schools

BRIAN S. LAIDLAW, Col, USAF
Commander
2 Attchs:
1. Lead Trifold
2. PAH Trifold

Tyndall Elementary School