EPA To Test Air Around 62 Schools

(AP)  The Environmental Protection Agency will soon be adding a different kind of equipment to dozens of school yards around the country - air pollution monitors.

The EPA announced Tuesday a list of 62 schools in 22 states where the outdoor air will be tested for toxic air contaminants. The agency will work with state and local officials to begin the monitoring at the selected schools within three months.

While the EPA and state and local governments already operate air pollution monitoring networks that collect information on a variety of air pollutants, this will be the first time school-yard air quality will be the focus of their investigations.

The contaminants to be tested vary depending on the school. But the focus is toxic chemicals that are known to cause cancer, respiratory and neurological problems - especially in children, who are more susceptible than adults because they are still growing.

The monitors will measure the air for gases as well as solid particles such as heavy metals and soot, the EPA said.

"EPA, state, and local officials are mobilizing to determine where elevated levels of toxics pose a threat, so that we can take swift action to protect our children at their schools," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. The agency will spend $2.25 million purchasing the monitors and paying for the laboratory analysis.

The schools were chosen because of their proximity to industrial facilities or other sources of pollution.

The list includes an elementary school and middle school in Deer Park, Texas, with about 1,500 students. The schools are located about one-quarter of a mile from the petrochemical plants and refineries that line the Houston Ship Channel.

Matt Lucas, a spokesman for the Deer Park Independent School District, said the district was notified of the monitoring on Monday. The school already cancels recess on days when smog - a persistent problem in the Houston area - reaches dangerous levels.

"Of course, we are going to cooperate and we look forward to seeing the results of the study, and we hope the EPA will advise us accordingly," Lucas said.

Three schools in Birmingham, Ala., near pipe and steel manufacturing plants also made the EPA list.

Michaelle Chapman, a Birmingham City Schools spokeswoman, said that one of the schools, Lewis Elementary, had already been monitored and the district was waiting for the results.

"We are not aware of any health problems that children who attend these schools are experiencing because of air quality," she said in a statement.

She said an EPA official who contacted the school in December urged parents not to panic.

The full list of schools that will be monitored can be found on the EPA's Web site.

Once in place, the new equipment will collect air samples on 10 days over a month. The EPA will cease monitoring at the school if the results show good air quality. But if high levels of contaminants are detected, the agency will take steps to reduce the pollution.

[Solarrays247]

Please, Mister Obama, if you have an ounce of brains (and studies show that there is a 50/50 chance that you do) GET RID OF THE EPA!!!
Posted by davicar2 at 6:11 AM : Apr 1, 2009

I might agree with you if you have another option to suggest to our fellow Americans! It should not take over 20 years to rectify a situation that is clearly harming some of our own citizens, especially when there are efficient and cost effective ways to rectify a harmful situation, don't you agree?

[Solarrays247]

There are only five schools listed for Pennsylvania. Wow....that is only the tip of the iceberg, for sure. But at least it is a start.

There is a brand new elementary school located in a town across the river from me. The school was built on the side of a hill. Lovely new school. However, when a neighboring factory is up and running, their exhaust smoke just pours over that new school. Currently the plant is shut down for lack of work. If it starts up production ever again, I will report it to the EPA.

The smoke that pours over the school, also covers a shopping center. I have seen this smoke bring young healthy men literally to their knees. This smoke affects many and causes a burning sensation to your lungs, throat, and sinus. I have seen customers leave a store because the smoke in the store from this factory was having a bad affect on them.

I reported this issue to the DEP three different times. The Department of Environmental Protection would always investigate promptly. Most of the time the DEP would shut the plant down, and fine the owners. It was cheaper for this factory to pay the fines then install the proper "scrubbers" as required by law.

The factory has since installed some scrubbers, but they really don't do the job. The managers or owners of this factory became very clever, and would run the worst at night, and over the weekend, when the DEP offices would be closed.

The city will do nothing about this, because if the plant is shut down permanently then they would lose a tax base, and over 100 people would be without a job.

In the past, individuals living close to this plant obtained petitions, and also studies that showed a high incidence of certain cancers occurring in the adjacent neighborhoods. Nothing ever came of that.

I live across the river from this town, probably two miles from this plant. I know when the plant is running, especially on Friday evenings, for some reason. I can be sitting in my living room, and the fumes burn my sinus, my throat, and my lungs.

If this plant ever starts up again, I will be sure to contact the EPA immediately. Perhaps under a new administration, something will finally be done to protect innocent lives.

I for one, intend on moving away from this entire area. I have only lived here nine years, and the air quality is bad, and becoming worse. It is a shame because this area is beautiful, with lush river valleys, and mountains. The scenery simply cannot be beat. But the air quality might do you in!