The air inside Elmira's Southside High School is free of chemical contaminants, according to air testing results released Monday. The state Department of Health tested the air and soil around the school in response to concern among some parents and residents who are worried that environmental contaminants were causing students at the school to develop cancer. Results of soil tests are expected to be released in August. The air was tested for 69 contaminants. A Health Department report recommended that additional studies be done to determine the source of slightly elevated levels of Freon and chlorinated solvents in air samples taken from underneath the school.
Students have no exposure to that air, the report states.
The state Department of Conservation collected 10 air samples May 22-23 from several sites inside the school, including three samples from beneath the concrete slab on which the school was built. In addition, state engineers also sampled air in an outdoor courtyard northwest of the school's gymnasium. The state also collected three air samples from Elmira Free Academy to serve as a basis for comparison. The air was safe there as well, according to the report. The community still awaits results from tests on soil samples taken on the school grounds, from additional air tests and from an evaluation by the state Health Department on the occurrence of cancer among current and former students at Southside.