School district to consider testing air outside 3 N. Charleston schools

Charleston County school officials are studying whether to test air outside five North Charleston Schools after a recent USA Today investigation ranked air around these schools as among the most polluted in the nation.

The district recently asked a consultant to develop an air testing plan for Chicora Elementary, Mary Ford Elementary, Charlestowne Academy, Academic Magnet High and North Charleston High.

"We're jumping on this and trying to be proactive," said Bill Lewis, the district's capital programs chief.

In a special report last month called "The Smokestack Effect," USA Today worked with university researchers to identify air pollution hot spots near schools.

Using a computer simulation to predict the path of toxic chemicals, the newspaper report found that children in schools in the industrial Neck Area may be breathing dangerous levels of toxic chemicals.

Only 168 schools in the nation had worse air than what's outside Chicora Elementary, the newspaper's calculations showed.

Other local schools in the bottom 2 percent include: Charlestowne Academy, Academic Magnet High School, North Charleston High, Mary Ford Elementary, Military Magnet Academy, St. Johns Catholic School and Boulder Bluff Elementary in Goose Creek.

The USA Today report based its its ranking on EPA data and computer-based calculations, not actual tests of air outside South Carolina schools.

After the report, district officials hired S&ME Engineering to develop an air monitoring effort, said Mark Cobb, executive director of facilities services.

The consultant recommended checking air at five schools at a cost of about $4,500 to 5,000 per school, Cobb said. Analyzing the data would cost an additional $1,500 to $2,000 per school.

Cobb also contacted officials at the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. They told him that the state already has an air monitor a half mile from Chicora Elementary. He said district officials and DHEC engineers plan to meet this week, and that the district could decide whether to move forward with the tests as early as next week.

Even if the district does find poor air quality outside the schools, Cobb said he's not sure what the district can do to improve the situation.

Regulating air pollution is DHEC's responsibility.

Lewis said the district hadn't received any complaints about air quality outside the schools identified in the USA Today report.

"But we want to be overly cautious. The kids safety and health come first," he said.

USA Today's report fingered Charleston Marine Containers Inc., MeadWestvaco, Detyens Shipyard, Rhodia, Saint-Gobain Vetrotex America Inc. and other industrial concerns as releasing most of the toxic chemicals that drift toward the schools.

Manganese, which can cause mental disturbances and other physical problems, along with chromium compounds, which can cause numerous health problems, were the two most prevalent pollutants being dispersed near the North Charleston schools, the USA Today report said.

Conservation groups and the NAACP are scheduled to hold a news conference Monday afternoon to demonstrate their concern about the area's air pollution and its effect on children.

Nancy Vinson, a program director for the Coastal Conservation League, said her group was pleased with the school district's response so far.

"It is no secret to those who live around here that industrial pollution is a problem," she said. "But this study by leading national scientists and researchers, reveals just how bad it may be."

Reach Tony Bartelme at 937-5554 or tbartelme@postandcourier.com.

Editor's note: Earlier versions of this story need clarification regarding the fact that the district planned to test the air outside five North Charleston schools today. Subsequent information from the school district shows they are considering the testing.