Tag: Kanawha County Schools

More Kanawha Co. School Closures Due to Water Concerns

Even more Kanawha County schools have canceled classes because of an odor resembling the chemical that spilled into a regional water system last month.
 
West Virginia Department of Education spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro says Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Ron Duerring directed J.E. Robins Elementary School in Charleston to close Thursday morning as a precautionary measure.

Updated on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 4:30:

Kanawha County Schools Superintendent Ron Duerring released the following statement:

Tests were conducted by the West Virginia National Guard in the three Kanawha County Schools which were dismissed early today because of reported odor issues in the schools. Results from all three schools ( J.E. Robins, Overbrook and Watts) came back as non-detect.   In consultation with the Kanawha – Charleston Health Department officials, the Governor’s Office, National Guard, and the West Virginia Department of Education the decision was made to keep schools open.    Kanawha County Schools have followed all flushing protocols and in many cases have gone beyond requirements in an effort to ensure student safety. We also continue to provide bottled water, cook with bottled water, and make available hand sanitizer.  In addition, all schools in the county were tested last week and all were reported at the non-detect level.

More from our original post at Thursday, February 6 at 12:00 p.m.

Cordeiro says she was told that a cook at J.E. Robnbins Elementary was using a dishwasher when the smell began. Both the cook and a custodian reported burning eyes.
 

She says the school plans to do more flushing and water testing.

The West Virginia Department of Education also announced the closures of two other schools due to water concerns:
 

 

Cordeiro says last week’s testing at J.E. Robbins, Watts, and Overbrook came back as a “non-detect.” Testing will continue at these three schools.

Riverside High and Midland Elementary remained closed Thursday. Both schools canceled classes Wednesday morning because of the licorice smell. Cordeiro also notes that testing  on Wednesday at Riverside High and Midland Elementary yielded non-detected levels of MCHM on Thursday.

Cordeiro says the school system continues to work with the local health department and West Virginia National Guard.

The Jan. 9 spill  spurred a nine-county water use ban for days.
 
 

Two W.Va. Schools Cancel Class After Chemical Odor

Two West Virginia schools closed early because of an odor resembling the chemical that spilled into a regional water system last month. Riverside High and…

Two West Virginia schools closed early because of an odor resembling the chemical that spilled into a regional water system last month.
 
     Riverside High and Midland Trail Elementary in Kanawha County closed Wednesday morning because of the licorice smell.
 
     The chemical wasn’t detected in previous testing.
 
     State schools Superintendent James Phares said schools were flushing their pipes Wednesday because of a water main break earlier in the week and didn’t finish before students arrived. Phares said some students complained of lightheadedness, itchy eyes and noses. A teacher who fainted and a student were taken to a hospital.
 
     The schools are reflushing and testing for the chemical. No decision will be made about Thursday’s classes until results return. The schools also have hand sanitizer and bottled water

Tests Show Presence of MCHM at Five W.Va. Schools

Tests conducted more than two weeks after a chemical spill tainted the water supply for 300,000 West Virginians show the presence of the chemical remains in five schools.
 
     The state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management on Friday released the results of water samples taken at 83 schools in five counties.
 
     The chemical that spilled Feb. 9 from Freedom Industries was present in tests at Andrew Heights Elementary, George Washington High School and John Adams Middle School in Kanawha County; Buffalo High School in Putnam County; and Lincoln County High School.
 
     The tests conducted Tuesday and Wednesday don’t detect levels of crude MCHM below 10 parts per billion, and 78 samples are listed as “non detected.” No results were released for samples taken at 24 other schools.
 

Update: Friday, January 31, 2014 at 5:30 p.m.

In a news release issued Friday afternoon, state Department of Education officials say they are working closely with schools whose water tested positive for MCHM and the West Virginia National Guard are conducting another round of flushing.

“It is important for students, parents and educators to understand that the five schools highlighted by the most recent round of testing were well below the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) recommended level, but were not yet at the more stringent screening level that the interagency team was directed to achieve beyond the CDC guidelines,” said West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Jim Phares.

The release state that this second round of flushing is to achieve a non-detect level, below 10 parts per billion, which is 100 times more rigorous than the 1 part per million screening level provided by the CDC for protecting public health.

The news release also states that hand sanitizer, bottled water and food preparation with bottled water will continue to be used in impacted county schools until the schools have been cleared below 10 parts per billion.
 

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