COVINGTON, Va. – School and health officials are addressing concerns about Covington Middle School just one day after parents filed a lawsuit regarding the school’s conditions. This lawsuit is the latest development in an ongoing controversy surrounding odors that parents claim are making students sick.
Strange Smells, Sick Students, Legal Action, and Now Answers from School Officials
After multiple air quality tests, officials confirmed there is no carbon monoxide in Covington Middle School. Chris Chapman, Director of Industrial Hygiene at ECS stated, “We did not see any issues with carbon monoxide for sure. But as was mentioned, you know, we did find some elevated carbon dioxide levels, which is an indicator. You know, CO2 in and of itself isn’t a health hazard, but it’s a surrogate or an indicator of poor ventilation. And one of the things that was identified on our second investigation was the rooftop exhaust ventilation system was not operable.”
Earlier, parents filed a lawsuit asking a judge to close Covington Middle School because their children kept getting sick. However, school officials say both students and staff will remain at the school following these findings.
Although school officials report no signs of carbon monoxide, the Virginia Department of Health found a baseline level of carboxyhemoglobin in Covington itself. They are currently working to identify the source of this issue but emphasize that it cannot be connected to the school, labeling it a community issue rather than a Covington Middle School issue.
Dr. Cynthia Murrow, Director of Roanoke and Alleghany Health District, clarified, “I have to be crystal clear; they cannot be associated with the middle school based on the fact that the school was closed when the overwhelming majority of positive findings of carboxyhemoglobin were identified.”
Back at Covington Middle, the district is taking additional steps to improve air quality after identifying ventilation issues.
Kim Halterman, superintendent of Alleghany Highlands Public Schools, said, “First we look to and will update our ventilation system and that associated equipment in Covington Middle School. We are also purchasing window units that will be installed to assist in that situation.”
However, the source of the urine and ammonia-like smells remains a significant question that officials have yet to trace. Chris Chapman, Director of Industrial Hygiene at ECS, noted, “We’re at the school three different times on three different occasions, and we never detected the odor. So, if it is not there, we really can’t sample for it.”
Regarding attendance and truancy concerns, school leaders pointed out that state law requires any student who misses 15 consecutive days, for any reason, to be dropped from enrollment. Parents would then need to re-enroll their children.
Dr. Cynthia Murrow added, “The Department of Environmental Quality, we have been looking at potential community sources of elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels, so whether there’s an environmental source of carbon monoxide that is contributing to this laboratory finding. At this point, looking at the EPA levels of the paper mill specifically, everything is well within the regulatory standards. We have not yet been able to identify any particular source.”