Worried about installation of equipment near Westlake High

I am very dismayed by a public notice letter dated Dec. 3, 2007, that was recently sent from the Ventura County Pollution Control Board directed to all parents of Westlake High School students.

It outlines the planned installation at 112 N. Lakeview Canyon Road of a diesel-powered generator operated by Verizon California close to the Westlake High campus at 100 N. Lakeview Canyon Road. The letter details the minimal exposure to known carcinogens that Westlake HS students will experience. As a parent of both a current and a future student, I consider even a minimal exposure unacceptable and I think wider public awareness of this project is necessary.

I will let the Westlake HS PTA know that I think they should plan a public forum inviting Verizon representatives. Let us hear about what cleaner/ greener/noncancer causing alternatives were considered. Have they been considered?

This issue needs further open examination. Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) has become an overused phase. However, we shouldn't let our children, our community's future, have an additional cancer-causing exposure in their very immediate environment without weighing all other possible options carefully and openly.

I believe that this matter should not remain quiet but needs to be brought to the attention of the broader community. Residents whose children will be attending Westlake HS in the future need to be made aware. Michele Kantor Westlake Village