Indoor air quality at Riverside Elementary School in Joppatowne is within acceptable guidelines, according to the first reports by an industrial hygiene company hired by the Harford County school system.
"No concentration of any air contaminants were found which exceeded the U.S Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] . . . or this investigator's professional judgment of safe exposure," said Oneil M. Banks, president of Oneil M. Banks Inc. of Bel Air.
The school system initiated the investigation after parents complained at a PTA meeting Tuesday that they were still concerned about gas leaks at the school.
On Jan. 25, a faulty chimney fan sent nonpoisonous fumes through the main school building, and Feb. 3, natural gas leaked in a kindergarten annex at the school on Stillmeadow Drive.
"I'm just saying, 'I'm scared.' This is not the safest environment," Megan Dove told County Executive Eileen M. Rehrmann, who spoke at the meeting about the funding process for a new roof and heating and cooling units for the school.
Mrs. Rehrmann promised the parents two weeks ago that the county would find money for the school's repairs after it became known there had been gas leaks.
Parents were unaware of the problems, they said, until their children began to complain of headaches and how they were moved from room to room at the school. "I had to hear it from my daughter," said Wendy Green. Her 5-year-old daughter, Jessica, is in kindergarten.
Earlier this month, about 40 parents staged a demonstration at Riverside and kept their children out of school because they felt school officials weren't taking their concerns seriously.
Since then, school officials have installed 41 carbon monoxide detectors in the school and called in Trane Air Conditioning, a Timonium contractor, to examine the equipment and repair it.
The county hazardous materials team also is making daily visits to check on the school's air quality. It also cited the school's principal, Beretta Y. Goodwin, Feb. 17 for failure to report the release of natural gas and carbon monoxide at the school.
The industrial hygiene company is continuing its investigation through Monday, Mr. Banks said. It also has taken air samples to check for mold spores, which can cause allergies, he said.
"I think the air quality is fine at this point," said David Sawyer, the father of a first-grade student. But he said, "[School officials] now say, after making repairs, it's safe. But how long had it been going on?"