The Roland Story High School is one of 63 schools across the country being tested by the U-S Environmental Protection Agency for toxic air problems. David Bryan of the Kansas City E.P.A. regional office says they began testing after an article in a national publication.
Bryan says the “U.S.A. Today” ran an article that said there was a problem with toxic chemicals in the air around schools. He says the E.P.A. then decided to establish 63 test schools to find out if there are problems with the air. Bryan says the testing at Roland Story found no problems.
He says they did some monitoring at the high school in Story City and found that most of the chemicals were non-detectable, and says they anticipated that would happen as the Iowa D.N.R. had gotten the same result. Bryan says the tests did not match up with the original assessment of the newspaper.
Bryan says the “U.S.A. Today” study found Roland Story was in the top one-percent of schools that were “at risk” for toxic chemicals. He says that study used some general rules for chemicals that are used at plants to guide their study. Bryan says the E.P.A. is still wrapping up all the tests and then will issue a final report.
He says the report will include all 63 schools and will determine if there are any trends or need for additional monitoring. The final report is expected in March or April. You can find out more about the air study online at: www.epa.gov/schoolair/schools.html.