Polytechnic Students Can Breathe Easier--No Toxics

Although preliminary results of environmental tests show the air at Francis Polytechnic High School is free of toxic gases and safe for students and staff, school officials said the recent sampling points to the need for a better monitoring system.

Air samples were tested for 70 chemicals Friday and Saturday in seven classrooms, the faculty parking lot, auditorium and gymnasium, and safe levels were found, said Angelo Bellomo, the lead environmental consultant on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s safety team.

“The bottom line is that the air inside the classrooms is not unlike the air within the Los Angeles Basin,” Bellomo said late Monday after results were released. “We are encouraged by the results.”

Final results should be available within a couple of weeks.

School officials ordered tests as a precautionary measure after Polytechnic was singled out last June as one of 10 schools needing monitoring or special equipment.

The school, at 12431 Roscoe Blvd., is near a landfill. Environmental concerns were raised because the decomposing organic material in landfills commonly produces potentially explosive methane and toxic gases such as benzene.

Polytechnic has 20 methane detection probes working 24 hours a day that would warn staff if concentrations of the gas get too high. However, the district has not regularly checked the air for other gases.

Because all volatile organic compounds should be monitored periodically, district officials said they plan to work closely with agencies such as the state Department of Toxic Substances Control and the city Bureau of Sanitation, which checks methane levels at the school.

“This points out the need for us to have an adequate monitoring system,” Bellomo said. “ This sampling represents a snapshot in time. We want to always know with certainty that no problems exist.”

The results will be presented tonight at 7 during a community meeting at Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley.