Sun Nov 08 2009
By JARED ORZOLEK
A report in a national newspaper indicates that the air outside buildings in two local school districts ranks among the worst in the nation when it comes to the amount of toxic chemicals.
However, area education officials and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) are skeptical about the conclusions the USA Today report draws about the amount of dangerous substances in the air.
The report indicates that Wauseon's high school, Burr Road Middle School, Elm Street Elementary and Emmaus Christian School as well as Archbold's elementary and high schools all rank among the worst 400 of 127,800 schools rated by the newspaper for air quality.
But Ohio EPA officials indicate that the findings represent a "snapshot" of the air quality near the schools. These officials report that Fulton County, where both school districts are located, meets federal air quality standards.
The report indicates that USA Today's study used a computer air quality projection model to rank the schools, along with 100 one-time-only air samples collected nationwide for the newspaper's study.
The rankings were based on the amount of toxic chemicals in the air and the effect these substances have on humans.
The USA Today story, published Monday, said the computer model utilizes data U.S. EPA collected from 20,000 facilities -- representing the emissions put out by these facilities in 2005.
Paul Koval, an air toxicologist with Ohio EPA, said USA Today's study shows that there is much more information to be gathered before conclusions can be made about the air quality around Ohio's schools. He said parents should not be immediately concerned about air quality.
"Before we draw any long-term conclusions, we need long-term results. We want long-term results before we make conclusions," Koval said, explaining that Ohio EPA has urged schools to improve the air quality around schools through policies which keep running vehicles away from the buildings.
"Our long-term goal is the health of all our population in the state of Ohio."
The USA Today report indicates that Wauseon High School ranked 68th out of 127,800 in terms of the quality of air outside the building. It ranked Burr Road Middle School at 147 and Elm Street Elementary School at 11 -- the worst school in the state.
The report ranked Archbold High School and Archbold Elementary School (located on the same campus) at number 363, while the district's middle school was not found near the top of the list.
USA Today's findings list Fypon Ltd. of Archbold, Sauder Woodworking of Archbold, GM Powertrain of Defiance, Steel Dynamics of Butler, Ind., and Haas Door of Wauseon as the entities responsible for pollution in Archbold and Haas Door, GM Powertrain, Fypon Ltd., North Star Bluescope Steel in Delta and Multi-Cast Corp. of Wauseon as affecting the air quality in Wauseon.
The report acknowledged that some of these companies may have reduced their emissions or closed since 2005.
Chemicals in the air, according to the report, include diisocyanates, manganese, formaldehyde and lead.
Marc Robinson, superintendent of Wauseon Exempted Village Schools, said he researched the air quality issue with both the Fulton County Health Department and Ohio EPA following the issuance of the USA Today report. He said these conversations led him to believe that there is not immediate cause for concern for Wauseon students or residents.
He said the national newspaper did not use physical data to reach its conclusions but based its findings on computer modeling.
"In Fulton County, there was never any formal data collected," Robinson said.
He said he is working with the health department and Ohio EPA to gather more information, noting that no school official would put a student or staff member in harm's way.
"We want to become as knowledgeable as we can about this," Robinson said.
Ohio EPA responded to USA Today report by issuing a letter from its director, Chris Korleski, to all Ohio school systems.
"We understand why anyone reading the article in USA Today would be concerned about this issue. ... I must emphasize that before we could or would come to any conclusions about possible localized health risks as a result of toxic chemical exposure, we would need to conduct an in-depth study in the area in question, including conducting long-term monitoring of the air (as opposed to relying upon one-time 'grab samples' or modeling data)," Korleski said.
"We will be reviewing the data that USA Today utilized and will use this information as a starting point to evaluate what additional inquiries and investigations may be necessary."
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