The Sun
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Parents urge district to check portable's safety

CUSD spends $50,000 on testing toxic levels

By Katherine Petersen

Potential dangers from exposure to chemicals in new buildings and construction sites prompted some parents at McAuliffe Elementary School to seek relief from the school district.

Parents asked the Cupertino Union School District to use fewer toxic materials such as carpet glue and paint and expressed concern over bad smells in newly constructed portable classrooms.

Parents said the district resisted their complaints, although it eventually complied with many of their requests.

Parents remain concerned that other schools, soon to undergo modernization, could face similar problems that they say caused headaches, dizziness and eye irritation to students, parents and teachers.

"They reacted when we brought their attention to problems, but no preventive measures were taken," said Susan Stanaway, a parent at McAuliffe.

Debbie Bakker, Stanaway and other parents have appeared at many school board meetings to bring this matter to the attention of the board.

Kathleen Smith, a McAuliffe parent who lives in Sunnyvale, spotted a construction truck driving along a playground of children with no one walking in front of it asking the kids to move, as had been promised by the district, she said. Once when she picked up her child at school, the kindergarten class had been evacuated because of fumes in the portable that caused a teacher to become ill.

The district spent more than $50,000 on performing air-quality testing, purchasing less toxic materials and having construction work done on weekends instead weekdays to address parents' concerns, said Jerd Ferraiullo, the district's director of facilities modernization.

One of McAuliffe's second-grade classes studied in the cafeteria for the last six weeks of the school year because of a periodic smell of gas in its classroom. Ferraiullo did tests himself, as well as asking Pacific Gas & Electric Company to perform air-quality tests.

"When I heard about a smell of gas in a classroom, I went out there immediately. I'm not going to put kids in danger. We constructed that site with respect to all known regulations with regard to toxic materials," he said.

Ralph Allen, district manager for California's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, confirmed that PG&E's testing had been evaluated, and the source of a gas smell could not be identified.

"There was probably something people were smelling, but it's very difficult to pin some of these things down," Allen said.

Other experts agreed that determining what might cause symptoms such as headaches and dizziness can be nearly impossible, but added that measures can be taken to lower the chances of exposure to indoor air pollution.

"Portables are constructed of pressed wood material, which can have a lot of formaldehyde in the wood and [dissipate] during the initial half-year after construction," said Jed Waldman, head of the indoor air-quality program at the California Department of Health Services. "A lot depends on the age of the portable and how well it was ventilated before being used."

Class-size reduction in districts throughout the state has put a premium on portable classrooms, and manufacturers are working on huge back orders, Waldman said. Districts need to be cautious about health and safety issues when purchasing or leasing portables, he added. CUSD alone will need about 30 new classrooms by September to reduce class sizes in first, second and third grades.

Some people, like Bakker, can be extremely sensitive to chemical exposure in newly constructed buildings, while others might not react at all.

After being in a portable at McAuliffe for about 10 minutes near the beginning of the year, Bakker felt disoriented, nauseated and faint.

"I couldn't think straight. I just knew I had to get out of there. Finally, the paramedics were called," Bakker said. Bakker has a history of hay fever and some food sensitivity, but said she has not been well since this event took place.

Children and teachers also experienced eye irritation and headaches, Bakker said.

For health and safety reasons, construction shouldn't occur on buildings occupied by students, but many districts didn't have that luxury last year, Waldman said. He advised districts to work with experts, which might cost a bit more money, to make sure construction is as safe as possible for students.

"The resources are out there. Administrators need to balance safety with their finances," he said.

Waldman hasn't heard of any long-term effects of such exposures, except in people who are already sensitized.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 13, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.