Initial air toxin report released for Neale School
By MICHAEL ERBVIENNA - An initial report on airborne toxins around Neale Elementary School shows little short-term concern due to chemicals in the air, but officials say it is too early to draw long-term conclusions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Thursday released preliminary reports on air quality around three West Virginia schools, including Follansbee Middle School in Follansbee, W.Va., and Cabell County Career Technology Center in Huntington.
In Washington County, the report covered levels at Warren Elementary School and the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center (formerly Fairview School).
Outdoor testing centers were established at all three West Virginia schools in August after a national report concerning schools in high-pollution areas based on EPA data was released by USA Today.
The studies do not look at air quality within schools, only the amount of chemicals in the air outside of the schools that are known to cause health problems.
The EPA's Thursday release said the initial data at the schools "show the monitored air toxics are below levels of short-term health concerns. EPA scientists caution against drawing conclusions at the point as the study is designed to determine whether long-term, not short-term, exposure poses health risks to school children and staff."
The toxins being screened are mostly heavy metals, such as manganese, cadmium, nickel, mercury and arsenic.
Once monitoring is complete, the full set of results from all of the schools will be analyzed to evaluate the potential for health concerns related to long-term exposure to these pollutants. As monitoring continues into the fall, EPA will post the data online at http://www.epa.gov/schoolair.
Jaime Wagner, environmental scientist with the U.S. EPA in Chicago, said no conclusions should be drawn from the preliminary results of four samples.
EPA expects to collect 10 to 13 samples before the study concludes. Air monitoring began Aug. 17 and is set to wrap up at the end of the month. There is a lag in reporting the data because of quality assurance procedures, Wagner said.
The three West Virginia schools are among 63 schools nationwide chosen as sites for outdoor air quality testing. Data from all of the schools will be posted online and will be used to determine if additional monitoring or enforcement steps need to be taken.
(Writer Brad Bauer contributed to this story.)
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Observer
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10-30-09 12:12 PM
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Any facility that produces pollution has had plenty of advance notice on this air monitoring and plenty of time to clean up their act. For example, cleaning dust collectors and replacing filters instead of blowing them out into the air overnight.
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Travelingman
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10-30-09 9:11 AM
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I wonder, can we assume that Vienna Elementary, Greenmont Elementary and Jackson Middle School would also have similar high readings? Wouldn't it be prudent to also test those schools? What does this say for our valley as a whole. Many kids spend much more time in their own yards than at the playground at school.
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