Health officials to probe portable classrooms

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Thursday, July 22, 1999

Health officials to probe portable classrooms

Parents invited to air concerns about potential health problems.

By ALECIA FOSTER

Representatives from the state Department of Health tonight will address

parental concerns over health problems being blamed on reportedly poor indoor

air quality in some Saugus Union School District portable classrooms.

The meeting is part of the department's launch of an independent

investigation into whether the student and teacher illnesses were caused by

the classrooms.

Parental concerns first arose in early February after a 10-year-old Rio Vista

Elementary School student was treated for severe allergies that were not

relieved by allergy medications.

Doctors said the student tested high for potentially toxic chemicals such as

arsenic and formaldehyde and that the portable classrooms were to blame.

Since then, several other children from Rio Vista have reportedly shown high

levels of the same chemicals. Health concerns have also arisen at

Helmers and Elementary schools.

Mark Fulmer, director of business services for the Saugus district, said

district officials welcome the health department's investigation into the

situation.

An environmental company, hired by the district, has already done several

tests of the classroom air to determine the level of chemicals that may be

inside. So far, those results have shown low concentrations of the chemicals

in question. At Helmers, no traces of the potentially toxic stachybotrys

mold, which was blamed for making one teacher sick, were found.

The district has also hired independent toxicologists to test students from

the classrooms in question. Several students have come forward for the

testing, said one district official.

District officials have been requesting the student test results from another

toxicologist, Dr. Ordog, who originally tested many of the students, but

have not received them.

Ordog has said he would not give the test results to anyone without consent

of the patient.

Fulmer said a recently circulated flyer, announcing the public meeting with

the health department and another meeting with district officials, contained

some misleading information and was not issued by the district.

The flyer stated that the district mandated " all parents shall attend two

upcoming meetings to ensure their children's health while in portable

classrooms. " " This is not true, " Fulmer said.

District officials sent out a letter inviting parents to attend, but it was

not mandatory as the flyer made it seem, he said.

The meeting will be held today at 7 p.m. in the multipurpose room at

Helmers Elementary School, 27300 N. Grandview Drive, Saugus.

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