Ailing teacher longs to get back to work

Veronica Duran

Richard Rapp loves his job so much he risked his life for it.

And not a day goes by when he doesn’t wish he was back in his Carson

classroom, doing what he enjoys most -- helping children learn.

Rapp, a four-year Costa Mesa resident and third-grade teacher at Towne

Avenue Elementary School for 32 years, was diagnosed with prostate cancer

in June. His doctors said the type of cancer he has is extremely

aggressive and already has spread to his bones.

He is on leave while undergoing hormone therapy and alternating rounds of

chemotherapy consisting of two weeks of treatment and then two weeks off.

Rapp’s oncologist has said it is possible his job at Towne -- which is

adjacent to an old landfill and is being investigated by Los Angeles

County health officials for possible environmental hazards as a result --

made him sick.

When Rapp, 52, told his students he was going on sick leave last month,

“I was sad,” Rapp recalled. “I had such a nice class this year. This is

such a nice class that you don’t want to be away from it. Most of the

kids really want to learn and they’re really working hard.”

Initially, Towne officials reported that 17 current or former school

employees had been diagnosed with various types of cancer and other

diseases.

But in the weeks since it was publicly announced that officials with the

Los Angeles County Department of Health were investigating whether there

is a link between the school’s proximity to the landfill and the

illnesses, that number has grown to at least 40 known cancer cases among

current and former Towne employees.

Now environmental investigators are trying to determine if carcinogens

such as vinyl chloride and benzene are being emitted from the soil at the

old landfill, which is now the site of the Victoria Golf Course, and

migrating to the school.

Greg Holmes, unit chief of the California Environmental Protection

Agency’s Department of Toxic Substance, who is working on the tests at

the golf course, said representatives from his office plan to meet today

with officials from the county Department of Public Parks and Recreation

to discuss what type of investigation should be done at the old landfill.

State Sen. Tom Hayden, who has met with concerned and ailing employees

at Towne, including Rapp, is seeking an independent study of the

situation.

Rapp said he is the first man who has been diagnosed with cancer who is

still working at the school. The others are all women, he said.

Although he is concerned about how county officials and the Los Angeles

Unified School District plan to deal with their plight, Rapp shows no

signs of rage while discussing his illness, or the possible cause.

“Being angry is not going to change anything,” he said. “It won’t take

the cancer away or wipe it out. [However], it would be nice to know that

some agency not involved with the district or the county could come in

and make a case study of the whole situation and come up with an honest

conclusion.”

Rapp said he is leery of the school district and county officials, who

some blame for not acting sooner.

“I don’t trust the school district or the county,” he said. “They’re both

involved in what has taken place. They both can’t afford to readily admit

that there is a problem related to the landfill because they’re facing

what could possibly be a major liability problem.

“The county can’t afford it. They have too much at stake. The more you

look at it and think about it, the county’s never going to tell you the

truth.”

Rapp said he has visited Towne during his leave and testified at two

closed-door hearings with Hayden and other teachers.

He has been joined at those sessions by Debra Weaver, a first-grade

teacher who has taught at Towne for six years and is serving as

spokeswoman for other ailing instructors who wish to keep their health

status confidential.

According to information gathered by Weaver, 17 Towne staff members are

battling some type of cancer while 23 others, who no longer work at the

school, have also developed health problems.

The most common ailments are thyroid conditions, breast cancer, cervical

cancer, skin cancer and melanoma, Weaver said.

“I’m really concerned about my health,” Weaver said. “Am I going to get

cancer 10 years down the road? I don’t know what I’ve been exposed to.

Practically every year through the ‘90s, someone has been exposed to

something. We’re all on edge. We’re under a lot of stress.”

Despite everything, Rapp, who is married and has three daughters, is

hoping to return to his classroom within the next few weeks.

FYI

Richard Rapp is one of at least 40 current and former employees of Towne

Elementary School in Carson who have been diagnosed with various types of

cancer and other diseases. County health officials are working to

determine if there is a link between the cancer cases and a landfill near

the school that has been emitting toxins.

VOICES

“I don’t trust the school district or the county. They’re both involved

in what has taken place. They both can’t afford to readily admit that

there is a problem related to the landfill because they’re facing what

could possibly be a major liability problem.”

“The county can’t afford it. They have too much at stake. The more you

look at it and think about it, the county’s never going to tell you the

truth.”

-- Richard Rapp