Agency monitors pollution levels surrounding St. Vitus school

Jan. 27, 2010

By Patrick E. Litowitz
New Castle News

A state environmental agency will examine the air quality of a New Castle parochial school during the next six months

Early indications are the air is more than fair at St. Vitus School, which is located near three South Side scrap processing facilities.

St. Vitus is a Catholic-based learning center for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Principal James Dailey contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in response to a 2008 USA Today report.

The national publication used a model to rank the air quality of schools nationwide. St. Vitus was rated among the worst in terms of exposure to chemical and cancer-causing toxins.

Dailey questioned the findings, and the DEP obtained and tested samples to address the newspaper’s assertions.

“There is no cancer or anything involved,” Dailey said. “(The air) is fine for our kids.”

The DEP tested the air at the South Jefferson Street school from Oct. 23, 2009, through Nov. 11, 2009. The cancer risk levels were found to be within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s acceptable range.

However, average concentrations of manganese measured just below an EPA “health benchmark.” Earlier this month, the DEP inspected Ferro Tech, New Castle Recycling, and PSC Metals to locate the source.

“We just want to make sure we have a full understanding of what is being emitted,” said Freda Tarbell, DEP spokeswoman. “We want to let folks know what we discovered is not an ... immediate jeopardy to anyone’s health.”

A Ferro Tech representative declined to comment on the DEP’s findings. Attempts to reach New Castle Recycling and PSC Metals officials for comments were unsuccessful.

Manganese, which is noncancerous, is a chemical used in the steel and iron industries. High levels of manganese can affect the nervous system, the DEP report said. In addition to testing for manganese, the state said it will monitor for smaller-sized particles and hexavalent chromium, an industrial chemical compound.

The DEP said it also will inspect other industries throughout the New Castle area in an effort to reduce exposure. The agency will contact St. Vitus and the city school district if issues arise.

“We haven’t had any notifications from the DEP that there are any problems with the schools,” said Paul Fulena, New Castle’s building and grounds director.

The hazards facing St. Vitus students are minimal. Based on DEP guidelines, to be at risk a person weighing 154 pounds would have to breathe approximately 5,200 gallons of affected air daily during a 70-year period.

“It’s so minute. The amounts were below the threshold,” Dailey said. “We have bright kids. They won’t be here in school for 70 years.”

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(To see the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s report on air testing in New Castle, visit www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/default.htm)