Schools

Tests Continue Following NMHS Gas Leak

Where the gas leak originated has not yet been found, district officials say.

A construction company is conducting tests Thursday in the continuing search for damages to a gas pipeline at Newark Memorial High School.

Damages to the pipeline, which a PG&E official has said is not a major gas line, were suspected after individuals .

Bonetti Construction is the company heading the test in which air is filtered into the pipeline so that faults can be detected, Superintendent of Schools Dave Marken said Thursday morning.

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“They have dug where they have sensed where the leak was and they are now pressure testing all of the lines with air. There is no gas currently running to the site. It’s all being air tested,” Marken said.

Marken said there is still no information on where the pipeline is damaged.

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PG&E personnel were called to the school Tuesday afternoon after a report of a faint smell of gas, Marken said. On Wednesday morning, PG&E crews were again at the high school to help detect the origins of the gas leak, PG&E spokesperson Monica Tell said.

The gas line serving the school was immediately shut off Tuesday afternoon, and there will be no heat or hot water in the meantime.

Tell said the area is safe so long as gas services to the school are shut off.

"There is no gas service currently to the school, so there is no immediate danger as a result of that. And now it’s really just about (making repairs) to have gas services restored," Tell said.

Executive Assistant to the Superintendent Liz Warren emphasized Wednesday afternoon that a contract company is working on the repairs because the gas pipeline is on Newark Memorial High School's property.

District officials said parents have been notified by the schools automatic phoning system about the incident. Marken added Thursday morning that parents are to receive another message about the testing of the pipes.

“We have to get to certain level before PG&E will turn on the gas. So that’s what they’re currently doing this morning and we hope to have it all tested by the afternoon and PG&E will make decision at that point,” Marken said.


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