FINDLAY, Pa. -- State environmental officials have confirmed foul odors detected at an Allegheny County elementary school are coming from a nearby landfill.
Neighbors and parents of students who attend the nearby Wilson Elementary School have been complaining of headaches and saying that smells are from the nearby Imperial Landfill.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said if had finished analyzing recent air samples taken around the school property.
The DEP said it measured for six Volatile Organic Compunds or VOCs, including benzene. All of the VOCs were found to be below detection limits, leading officials to conclude the compounds "were at levels below which one would expect to see adverse health effects in adults and children using the facility," the DEP said in a news release.
The DEP monitoring did find compounds associated with "the decomposition of waste" were detected in several places, as well as methane gas.
However, in a news release the DEP said the purpose of the recent testing was "to determine the source of the gases and odor-causing compounds," not evaluate the potential health risks.
County officials will conduct another set of tests starting this week.
To counter the odors, the school district installed air filters on March 16 in the school's ventilation system.
DEP and county officials said they are discussing what actions the landfill's owner, Republic Services Inc., will take to correct the problem.
To read the entire report visit
www.depweb.state.pa.us *Note: this links to a .pdf file. You will need Adobe Acrobat to read the file.
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