SAN CLEMENTE : Tests of 2 Classrooms Fail to Yield Toxins

Tests performed in two portable classrooms plagued by strong odors, which reportedly made one teacher and dozens of students sick last year, have revealed no dangerous levels of toxins, officials told an emotionally charged gathering of parents this week.

More than 50 parents attended the meeting at Truman Benedict Elementary School, conducted by Capistrano Unified School District officials.

The tests, which can detect thousands of volatile organic chemicals, were conducted by Dr. Joseph Fedorick of UC Irvine’s School of Medicine and revealed no dangerous toxins inside the portable classrooms.

“I think there were some higher levels of materials there before, but those materials are not there now,” Fedorick said. “As the classrooms sit now, I wouldn’t have any problem sending my own son there.”

The classrooms remain empty as district officials study Fedorick’s report, which was completed on Tuesday. A decision on whether to have the students return to the classrooms will not be made for at least two weeks, said William D. Eller, the district’s associate superintendent.

“We want the parents to have a certain comfort level,” Eller said. “Any decision we make will be in a vacuum without parental support. We need more information before we make a decision. If kids go back to the room and get sick, then we’re at Square 1 and that’s not our objective.”

One of the two fifth-grade classes housed in the portables was relocated to the school’s library on Oct. 30 after teacher Kristen Schultz told school officials that 80% of her students had complained of nausea, chest pains, headaches, dizziness and breathing difficulties.

Three weeks later, school officials moved students and teacher Susan Wildenberg out of the second portable classroom, where two students had reported feeling ill.

Schultz and one of the ill students in Wildenberg’s class had their blood tested through a laboratory in Texas that specializes in testing for levels of chemicals that may not be detected in regular blood tests.

The blood tests revealed abnormal levels of trichloroethane and benzene in the blood of Schultz and the student. But tests conducted by the Orange County Health Care Agency and Fedorick revealed no abnormal levels of either of the two toxic chemicals in either of the classrooms.

Fedorick, who was hired by the district as an independent consultant, said there was “no linkage” between the toxins revealed in the two blood tests and the air in the classrooms. He said the illnesses could be attributed to improper ventilation of odor-filled air inside the new classrooms.

“People react differently and the headaches and other illnesses are what we see in buildings where there is a limited amount of fresh air,” said Fedorick, who suggested that the district adopt a policy that would require a lengthy “airing-out process” of brand-new portable classrooms before placing students in them.

In response to parental concern, Fedorick said he will immediately begin testing the classrooms for formaldehyde, which was detected in higher-than-average levels during one of the tests conducted by the county last fall.