Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Con Edison Air Quality Testing Update


On Wednesday, April 16, representatives from Con Edison, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and NYS Department of Health (DOH) presented the results of their air and soil tests taken during the mid-winter recess (February 18 - 23). They found potentially toxic chemical vapors in the soil beneath our school building (not a new fact) but no such chemicals in the indoor air of our school building that could be attributed to the coal tars left beneath the school following the closure of the manufactured gas plant that used to operate on our site until the late 1930s.

Air samples were taken from multiple sites around the basement and first floor of our building to evaluate the indoor, winter season air quality, while soil samples were taken at several locations through the basement's concrete floor to evaluate the level of chemicals and chemical vapors beneath our school. The air quality tests were primarily seeking the presence of certain dangerous chemicals called BTEX -- benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene -- that are often associated with manufactured gas plants. Only one location in our school building was found to have an unusually high level toluene, and that is a basement storage room where gasoline-powered equipment is kept. The DOE has already promised to add ventilation in that storage room to direct any such vapors outside the building.

Con Edison and DEC concluded therefore that "none of the detections of [chemicals] in the indoor air can be directly attributed to the contamination below." They further stated that "there is strong evidence that concrete floor is an effective barrier" to preventing chemical vapors in the soil below the school from entering the building's indoor air.
MCSM and Isaac Newton parents asked a number of questions during and after the presentation. We (MCSM PTA) anticipate having further review of these test results and their interpretation by an independent outside consultant.

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