This story was updated Aug. 7 to include additional details.
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) on Thursday said it believes that a known underground PCE plume originating from near the Miraflores housing site is the source of the vapors detected at Kennedy High.
The DTSC and school and city officials gave a short overview of the situation to more than 250 people gathered virtually and at the Richmond Memorial Auditorum to learn more about the chemical detected in the soil of the Kennedy High School campus.
Pending air test results, which are expected by the end of next week, WCCUSD is investigating alternative places where students could start school, including the Craneway Pavilion on Harbour Way South, Contra Costa College in San Pablo or other school and city properties. But the superintendent said their decision will be based on the data.
“There’s a possibility that our indoor air testing comes back great, and it’s fantastic and we’re back on track,” said Superintendent Cheryl Cotton.
The worst-case scenario she said, is that the campus is closed for 60 days. She said they expect to share more specifics about their contingency plans as early as tomorrow, with a Kennedy student summit planned for next week.
In April the state became aware that tetrachloroethylene was present in the soil about 500 feet from the campus and recommended that the district conduct testing. Kennedy tests were performed in July, and on July 31 the district was notified that the gas was found in the campus soil; on Monday it was announced that the campus, including the city pool there, were closed pending further testing; then Wednesday’s school board meeting was cancelled as district officials scrambled to come up with a relocation plan for about 625 students.
DTSC emphasized that there is “no immediate risk” based on preliminary findings.
If indoor air results are at a safe level the district can reopen the campus. If it needs to rectify any contamination, those options will be discussed.
For more information
- Check out the WCCUSD webpage of updates about the Kennedy High School environmental testing.
- Read this three-part series about how California cities can clean up PCE, learn about the breadth of the problem and possible solutions.
- Visit the Department of Toxic Substances Control website to learn more about the dry cleaning chemical known as PCE.
- See this WCCUSD FAQ about the PCE testing at Kennedy.
DTSC has assured the district there are well-established mitigation methods available, such as enhanced ventilation or sealing foundation openings. The district is also incorporating vapor mitigation into the design of the new Kennedy buildings under construction.
School board president Guadalupe Enllana told Richmondside she planned to tour a potential relocation site Thursday but did not disclose the location. She said the intention is to find a place that would keep the Kennedy High community together.
“I believe always planning for worst-case scenario,” Enllana said. “And my goal is to ensure that we don’t continue to really affect the Kennedy student families … it feels like there’s this constant hunch that we make one decision to move forward, and then all of a sudden something hits us, and we’re taking 10 steps back.”
Chemical found after state requested testing
The PCE was coincidentally discovered as WCCUSD was in the midst of a $280 million campus renovation to transform the nearly 60-year-old high school into a modern facility that can house up to 1,200 students.
known pce sites in richmond
Ian Utz, senior scientist for DTSC, said Thursday night that PCE was detected in small drilled testing holes, about 5 feet deep, in five of six locations they tested in the northeast portion of the campus, including Cutting Boulevard and 43rd Street to the east. The suspected source is what Utz called a “larger plume in the neighborhood,” a .7-mile area from Nevin Avenue to Cutting. It originated from a dry cleaner on San Pablo Avenue and then what is now the Miraflores senior housing development.
The PCE is not related to the campus construction, however. PCE contamination, which commonly comes from dry cleaning operations, can be found at several sites in Richmond and have been under investigation for 20 years, Utz said.
In response to a longtime resident who expressed frustration that the problem has been known for years, Utz said he shared that frustration.
“Twenty years is a long time, and it is extremely frustrating to not have this problem solved in 20 years. I share that frustration. We all share that frustration,” Utz said. “We’re trying as hard as we can to find a source and hold that source responsible for cleaning up this problem in the soil and the groundwaters.”
Residents express fears about risks, health concerns
Several residents Thursday expressed fears about how long the plume has been there, how far and fast it has spread, and their health, but they were told that the state has no data about indoor air that could answer that question definitively.
“It’s very hard to understand how a person has been affected. My suggestion is to talk to your physician because they are the one who knows you best,” said Claudio Sorrentino, a toxicologist in the Northern California Unit of the Human and Ecological Risk Office of the DTSC.
In a written statement provided to Richmondside, a DTSC department spokesman said, “Public safety is our top priority as DTSC continues to work closely with the West Contra Costa Unified School District and the City of Richmond. Based on current information, DTSC does not believe there is an immediate risk to the community. Sampling is underway and results will guide possible next steps. To this point, we have not collected evidence that contamination has moved from the soil to the air inside the Kennedy High School buildings. Ongoing tests will show if tetrachloroethylene (PCE) detected in soil has made its way into the indoor air. If that is the case, additional steps may be warranted. In the meantime, DTSC continues its investigation to determine the source of the contamination and the extent of impacts both on the school site and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Bendrick Foster, president of the Park Plaza Neighborhood Council, told the officials it’s a city problem.
“We need to all get on the same alignment … this issue has been carrying on for awhile,” Foster said. “It should of been (up) to the city (to find the money and fix it.) It’s gone too far. Shouldn’t be going on for years. It’s like breathing Chevron all your life. This is bad.”
The district said it’s working with medical professionals and plans to offer a webinar next week.
Noah Alan Mogey, an 11-year English teacher at Kennedy, told Richmondside Wednesday that while he appreciates that the district has been proactive in communicating about the issue, he worries about the families who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.
“I’m struck with the irony of them relocating us out an ‘abundance of caution’ while those of our kids who live across the street, potentially also under this PCE contamination, hear nothing at home,” Mogey said.
According to the DTSC, however, soil contamination does not necessarily mean someone is going to be exposed to the vapor.
“Detecting contamination underground does not automatically mean vapors have entered buildings or that anyone has been exposed or would be exposed in the future. Indoor air testing is necessary to answer that question,” school board clerk Demetrio Gonzalez Hoy said, in sharing DTSC informational material on Facebook.
According to the information shared Thursday, the district decided to close the campus because the soil gas tests showed a level that was above what’s allowed in a residential setting where someone would be breathing the air daily for a lifetime.
School board members previously had asked DTSC about whether they advised at-home testing or testing other schools nearby. DTSC explained that environmental investigations follow a step-by-step process based on groundwater flow, previous testing, and available scientific data. They also acknowledged that additional community testing may be appropriate as the investigation continues, but they are not yet at that stage.
kennedy PCE Q&A
Mogey also was concerned about what this means for the start of the school year. Even if it’s safe for the campus to be reopened by Aug. 18, the current closure comes at a critical time — when activities including enrollment, professional development and conditioning for fall sports teams are supposed to be happening, he said.
“A huge amount of behind-the-scenes planning that goes into having a functional year happens this week,” Mogey said. “A lot of enrollment is also happening right now, so we usually are starting to have regular drop-ins into the registrar’s office in order for students to begin their enrollment processes.”
Kennedy has historically struggled with decreasing enrollment. In 2021, the school had about 825 students enrolled. Last year that number dropped to 625 students.
“A solid launch kind of sets the ground for a stable school year, and also sets like the stability and welcome that we need, especially for our immigrant population,” Mogey said. “I mean, every year we have a lot of students who they show up on the first day of school with, you know, maybe without a backpack, to get their schedule, having not done their forms yet. They know when the first day of school is, but like they’re not rigorously checking all summer district news and anticipating this.”
For some, the crisis is reminiscent of the sudden Stege closure in 2024
As a result, a lot of critical “behind the scenes work” has been moved to DeJean Middle School — including registration for Kennedy High.
“The schedule is still not finalized, so our counselors are working basically full time at this point, finalizing and developing the schedule, getting kids rostered, double checking all of that,” Mogey continued. “We also have a full new administrative team this year, so they’re figuring out all of their logistics and, you know, the basic questions of how we are handling safety … who’s covering lunch at various points in time, and like a lot of those like boring logistics.”
Enllana compared the situation to Stege Elementary’s abrupt closure in 2024 after asbestos and lead hazards were discovered during summer repair work, saying she worries another last-minute campus closure could similarly disrupt students and erode public trust.
“I kind of see Stege happening all over again to where like this was dropped on the community from like right at the beginning of the year,” Enllana told Richmondside. “It’s really upsetting, especially knowing the effects that it has on the community.”
Following intense community advocacy and a civil rights lawsuit, the district committed to an $18 million complete Stege rebuild slated for completion by fall 2027.
In the interim, the local middle school DeJean, has been the temporary site for the Stege students.
“I believe that (the Kennedy High situation) was handled with students and staff safety in mind,” Enllana said. “I just would like to see a little more communication around this … there are still more unanswered questions.”
She hopes the community meeting today will answer many of those questions.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect to correct spelling of Ian Utz’s name.
So what does this mean for those of us who live within a half mile radius of JFK?
Hi Jay, We are continuing our reporting on this issue (please email me at kari@richmondside.org if you’d be willing to talk to a reporter) but you can find a quick overview of the investigation status here: https://richmondside.org/2026/08/05/richmond-has-6-pce-chemical-sources-under-investigation/
And here: https://richmondside.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Miraflores-Community-Update-Slides.pdf
I hope everybody who is a stakeholder in this contamination situation takes a look at the Miraflores Community Update Slides at Richmondside.org https://richmondside.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Miraflores-Community-Update-Slides.pdf.
The slides are maps of the part of Richmond south of where Omo’s drycleaning shop operated. It’s called “dry” cleaning because it uses solvents including PCE instead of washing with water (and detergent). I hope everybody stares at those slides and gets familiar with what a plume is. Everybody can take a quick look and see that the map is color-coded to show just how bad the problem is as you get farther south.
What the maps can’t show is how big the problem is in terms of death and disability from the spreading toxin — the PCE=perchloroethylene=tetrachloroethylene.