NORTHPORT, NY — Northport Middle School parents are furious after the school district confirmed high levels of mercury were found on school grounds. In a letter sent to the community Monday night and obtained by Patch, Superintendent Robert Banzer told parents elevated levels of the chemical were detected in a cesspool area outside the building, next to a classroom.
The school district was notified of the mercury in a call from PW Grosser Consulting, an environmental firm working with the district and Northport Middle School Subcommittee. The company recommended further air and vapor testing inside three classrooms — G-51, G-52 and G-53 — "out of an abundance of caution and because of the proximity of the leaching pool to the building," the letter said. Rooms G-52 and G-53 should also remain empty indefinitely, the company said.
The district has moved the remaining G-52 Monday class to the computer lab. No class has been held in G-51 since Dec. 10, Banzer said.
The consultants visited the school at 11 Middleville Road after classes ended Monday and said students shouldn't be in the G-53 classroom either. The firm has tested the three rooms for mercury vapor and those results are expected by Tuesday or Wednesday night. Banzer said he'll notify parents once the results are in. Until then and further consultation with the consultants, students will not have class in those rooms, he said.
Here's the relocation plan:
- Students in G-51 will continue to report to B24
- Students in G-52 will report to G-59
- Students in G-53 will report to D-41.
Close Northport Middle School Long Island, New York, a Facebook page with the goal of educating the community about the potential health risks at the school, responded to Banzer's letter by telling parents they should keep their students home.
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Heavy metal poisoning is SERIOUS!," the page wrote. A video posted by the group early Tuesday called for Northport Middle School to be permanently shut down as soon as possible.
"Force this district to close this school," appeared in text at the end of the video. "Our children's lives are at stake. Call [the middle school] and demand action."
Social media reaction among others the community was swift.
"How is this still ongoing?," one parent asked. "Dozens of sickened students and staff. Decades of reports and articles. I really don't understand, how the district is not being proactive here? Maybe they think the information being presented to them is one-sided. What I don't get, is how they don't see the risk in keeping that building occupied, in the event that they are wrong. It doesn't seem that unrealistic, especially since we have an entire extra school building, to relocate to. Continue the testing, continue the fight, continue whatever it is they think their process is... But continue after it's been vacated. What happens when they realize that the information we're presenting, is not one-sided. It's data. There are no sides. And they've wasted years and years and subsequently, dozens more get sick."
A second person said it's time to close Northport Middle School and relocate the students to Laurel Avenue.
A third said, "Game on....Need this building emptied!"
Mercury exposure can happens when people breathe contaminated air, ingest contaminated water or food, or have dental and medical treatments, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. At high levels, mercury can damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses.
Northport Middle School parents staged a "sick out" Nov. 7 with their children after parents say "strange odors" had been present in the school and making students sick, according to a report by News 12 Long Island.
Teachers and students reported smelling diesel fumes in the school in April 2017, and an inspection one month later found two dozen hazardous materials were in the building, according to News 12 LI.
People then reported a smell in a newly-renovated area, according to News 12. Officials told the news outlet the smell was the result of a new heating and ventilation system, and no problems were discovered following indoor air quality inspections.
Many teachers and students reported getting sick because of the conditions, according to ABC 7.
"There's flooding all over the floors, the K wing smells like puke, it smells like mold everywhere, it's disgusting," eighth grader Lucas Yule told ABC 7.
John Kobel, a former teacher at the school, told Fox 5 NY his science and technology classroom was near a cesspool believed to have had heavy metals inside for 28 years, and his health has never been the same.
"Heavy metal poisoning, mold poisoning, prostate, skin cancer," Kobel told Fox 5 NY.
Northport-East Northport Union Free School District has no further comment than what's provided in a series of letters, which can be read here.
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Northport Middle School Parents Furious Over High Mercury Levels - Northport, NY Patch
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