Health Tests Begin for Students at Industrial-Area School

Long-awaited medical exams for up to 600 children at Tweedy Elementary School will begin today in hopes of answering questions about possible health hazards at the school, which is in a heavily industrialized area.

Initial surveys and exams by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services show no health problems. But the Los Angeles Unified School District will conduct the exams in an attempt to assure parents that their children are not being affected by chemical emissions from nearby industries.

Meanwhile, 26 parents and school staff members have filed a claim against the City of South Gate, saying that they continue to suffer respiratory problems, skin and eye irritations, digestive tract distress and headaches following a February chemical spill a block from the school that released a cloud of chlorine gas. A spokesman for the claimants said blood and urine tests on 49 students and staff from the school “have revealed very significant levels of toxic chemicals.”

Parents and school staff have urged the district for months to offer medical exams for students to see if they are suffering from the effects of the February chlorine spill and from ongoing emissions from several nearby firms.

Ringed by 16 Industries

The school, at 5115 Southern Ave., is surrounded by at least 16 industrial companies. Parents have long complained about pungent odors at the school. But the parents began urging intensive studies of their children’s health after the spill from the nearby Purex Corp. plant sent 71 people, including 27 children, to hospitals for nausea and dizziness.

In a school meeting that lasted more than three hours last week, parents were informed about the results of various studies and surveys conducted by the county Health Department and South Coast Air Quality Management District, the school district. They also heard from James Dahlgren, the physician who conducted blood and urine tests on behalf of parents and staff who have filed a claim against the city.

Dr. Paul Papanek, chief of epidemiology for the county Health Department, told parents that if their “child is not sick, your child is safe. If your child is sick, get him checked.

“If you don’t have symptoms now, you won’t,” said Papanek, who noted that chlorine gas is a powerful irritant to lungs when inhaled in large amounts.

Papanek, who oversaw a staff questionnaire and a study of student absentee rates, said that the concentration of chemicals inhaled daily by children and school staff is too small to cause a long-term health problem.

“There won’t be a delayed effect. There won’t be a delayed reaction. Body damage won’t happen if you are not a person having problems today,” he said.

Although Health Department studies indicated that there was not an increase in asthma cases among Tweedy students, Papanek warned parents whose children have asthma to transfer their children to another school.

“Anytime you’re exposed to something irritating, you’re more likely to be (sensitive). If you have an asthmatic child sensitive to this environment, your child should not be here,” Papanek said.

Subjects From Similar Backgrounds

He said there was no noticeable difference in absentee rates between Tweedy students and students at San Gabriel Avenue Elementary School, which is also in South Gate. It was selected for comparison because its students come from similar socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds as those at Tweedy, and is also on a year-round calendar. It is different in that it is in a residential area not affected by chemical fumes.

Papanek said the questionnaire answered by Tweedy staff members found adults reporting a higher rate of similar symptoms: irritation of the eyes, stomachaches and sore throats. But Papanek said the overall rates of asthma and bronchitis among Tweedy staff members are lower than the national average.

24 Children Hospitalized

Dr. Helen Hale, who is in charge of the school district’s student health division, said 24 children who were hospitalized following the toxic spill were seen by district medical staff and that no symptoms related to the chlorine exposure were found.

“We find no evidence that any of your children have suffered from a long-term effect,” Hale told parents at the meeting.

But because parents pressed for all the children to be examined because they breathe chemical emissions daily, the district agreed to extend the exams to all Tweedy students, school board member John Greenwood said. The exams, which will be done without charge to parents, will be conducted at the school through Dec. 2. Greenwood said the procedure will include a history of symptoms and a physical examination, which may include a breathing test.

If a child needs further tests or examinations, he or she will be referred to the family’s private physician, Hale said.

Principal David Sanchez said 140 parents have already signed up for the the medical exams and the school is planning to send letters to all parents who missed the meeting.

“For a lot of parents this is new to them. I think it will be received in a positive way,” said Sanchez, who added that he still suffers from a sore throat and irritated eyes stemming from the chemical spill.

Equivocation

Ruth Jimenez, who works as a teacher’s aide and is president of the school advisory council, said she is glad the children will be tested but still doesn’t feel the agencies “have given us any answers.”

“First they say, ‘It’s not bad for your health.’ Then they say, ‘Tweedy should not be here at all.’ They don’t give us a straight answer,” said Jimenez, who has three children attending Tweedy.

Greenwood, whose district includes South Gate, said the exams are an attempt to deal with the short-term problems. The ultimate solution, he said, is to “get companies to be responsible or get rid of them.” The school district and the city are continuing discussions to find a site for a new Tweedy school to be built in conjunction with a new regional high school.

“I don’t think it’s healthy to have a school next to all these (industries),” Greenwood said. “When we find a piece of land, we’ll build a new school.”

Greenwood, however, pointed out that residents who live near the firms could still be affected. “We need to focus as well on how do we stop the source of emissions,” he said.

The survey conducted earlier this year by the Health Department among school staff found that of 58 respondents, 52 said they detect unpleasant or unusual odors at the school; 35 said the odors are noticeable more often than once a week.

No Aberrations Found

The survey also found no significant difference in the rates of coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, sore throat and stomachaches comparing people who were exposed to the chlorine cloud and those who were not. Only two respondents reported that they have asthma and these two people did not report a worsening of their symptoms over the past year. Four people reported symptoms consistent with chronic bronchitis; three of these persons were at Tweedy on the day of the chlorine release and one was not.

Hermez Moreno, a representative for the law firm of Sayre, Moreno, Purcell & Boucher, said tests by Dahlgren showed high levels of chloroform.

“What the findings suggest is now a low level. They are . . . an indication (students and staff workers) are being exposed at this school to much much more toxic chemicals,” Moreno said.

Papanek said Dahlgren’s tests are unreliable and the results too preliminary to draw a definite conclusion. Greenwood said in an interview that health and district officials would have to see the specifics of the tests “to know if there’s anything there or not.”

The air-quality district since March has cited six companies in the school’s vicinity for a variety of violations. The companies are Cooper Drum Co., cited seven times for emissions of solvent odors and a malfunctioning scrubber; MacLeod Metals Co., cited four times for lack of permits for certain operations such as open spray-painting; W. R. Grace Co., cited twice for fugitive dust and odors; W. L. B. Inc., cited twice for open spray-painting without a permit and excessive solvent emissions; Kustom Fit Manufacturing Co., cited once for excessive solvent emissions; and Universal Cast Iron, cited twice for using excessively volatile solvents in coatings and operating a mixer without a permit.

Although the conditions have been corrected, the cases are still winding their way through court, said Ben Shaw, manager of the industrial operations branch for the district. He said the companies face a maximum $1,000 fine for each violation.

Shaw also said a device to monitor odors at the school will be installed by the air-quality district sometime this month.