PROBE OF PORTABLES HEATS UP; STATE RESEARCH SCIENTIST BROUGHT IN TO INVESTIGATE.Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer The state Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
Sandra McNeel, a research scientist with the department's environmental health investigation branch, said Tuesday she will study doctors' conclusions that toxic mold that has sickened one teacher and at least one child came from their portable classrooms at Helmers and Rio Vista Rio Vista may refer to:
She will also evaluate whether chemicals found in blood and urine samples from several others came from a bungalow. McNeel, a specialist in indoor mold contamination, sent letters last week to three teachers and to the parents of 47 children who were in Room 30 at Helmers in Valencia and Room 40 at Rio Vista in Canyon Country. She is seeking copies of medical records generated in the past six months. McNeel also will review tests conducted by a Glendale environmental testing company on the two portables. The probe was requested by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) in Los Angeles County's department providing public and personal health services to the over 10 million residents in the County. and the Saugus Union School District The Saugus Union School District is a school district in the Santa Clarita Valley that serves the Saugus, Valencia, and Canyon Country communities within the city of Santa Clarita, California. As of March 25,2006, it has 15 elementary schools. . ``Our approach to doing these kinds of studies is to evaluate all the available information by looking at medical records, the environmental testing and any results,'' McNeel said. Machado Environmental Inc. found no elevated levels of formaldehyde formaldehyde (fôrmăl`dəhīd'), HCHO, the simplest aldehyde. It melts at −92°C;, boils at −21°C;, and is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether; at STP, it is a flammable, poisonous, colorless gas with a suffocating , inorganic arsenic or Benzene benzene (bĕn`zēn, bĕnzēn`), colorless, flammable, toxic liquid with a pleasant aromatic odor. It boils at 80.1°C; and solidifies at 5.5°C;. Benzene is a hydrocarbon, with formula C6H6. , a carcinogen carcinogen: see cancer. carcinogen Agent that can cause cancer. Exposure to one or more carcinogens, including certain chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses, can initiate cancer under conditions not completely understood. used in adhesives, in testing the Rio Vista portable. However, the consultant found the vents to the new portable hadn't been opened, prompting concern among parents that chemicals commonly used in manufacturing portables were ``gassing off'' and poisoning the air in the classroom. At Helmers, some nontoxic molds were found in air-conditioning vents, but tests are not complete on the possibility that spores from poisonous stachybotrys were present. The teacher in that classroom, as well as a child at Rio Vista, tested positive for the mold, which thrives in wet areas. When the spores dry, break off and become airborne, they can be extremely toxic, said Dr. Gary Ordog, head of the toxicology department at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. McNeel said it was parents' concerns about possible toxins that prompted her investigation. ``Our role is to come in as a disinterested third party to answer questions from parents who are concerned and have questions about the environmental conditions,'' she said. ``We will make a completely independent evaluation of the studies and records.'' |
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