Stony Lane students evacuated 2nd time
By: BETH BOTTIS 11/13/2003
Students at Stony Lane were evacuated two times in as many school days because of toxic fumes resulting from the roof construction project there.
An alarm sounded at 10:57 a.m. on Friday after one teacher became ill with symptoms that were consistent with exposure to some of the chemicals that were being used on the roof, according to Fire Chief David Murray. The building was evacuated within 15 minutes of that time.
"An adhesive was used that was not supposed to be used during the day while the building was occupied," Murray said.
Two of the identified chemicals that most likely caused the problem are Sarnacol 2170 and Olybond 500, according to Murray.
In addition to the one teacher, Murray said that there were two or three students who also exhibited similar, but minor symptoms because of the fumes.
The one teacher, according to Murray, was taken to South County Hospital by ambulance on Friday. Superintendent Dr. James Halley confirmed that one teacher had been taken to the hospital and said that if any students had been taken, they were taken later by their parents and not by rescue officials.
"One teacher was taken to the hospital, but I believe that she had been ill previously," Halley said. "I'm not sure how much of that illness was related to the roof project."
Additionally, parents of one student who suffers from a blood disorder spent Friday in the emergency room at Hasbro Hospital because of the situation at Stony Lane.
Classes were cancelled for the remainder of the day on Friday so that the situation could be remedied.
The school was again evacuated on Monday morning, according to Murray, when five teachers and a few students complained of experiencing eye irritation and a chalky taste in their mouths. Those symptoms, Murray said, are consistent with exposure to the adhesive's chemicals.
Monday's situation appeared to be directly related to the work that was done on Friday and the fact that the chemicals were still present in the ventilation system.
The roof replacement projects have caused a number of headaches for the school district in the past two months.
In October, classes at Davisville Elementary had to be cancelled for half of one week because of complications with the roof construction project there.
Following that incident, Bill Daly, director of human resources for the school department had told the Standard-Times that extra precautions had been taken for the Stony Lane project, to ensure that similar complications did not occur.
Daly had also said that unlike the project at Davisville Elementary, most of Stony Lane's roof involved a fastened roof that did not require much gluing, so there was less risk concerning fumes that could be potentially hazardous.
At that time it was said that the small area that did require adhesive was located around the office section of the school and would be completed on Saturday Oct. 25 so as to minimize any exposure to students and staff. That would have also allowed the work to sit for all of that following Sunday before the building was occupied the next Monday.
According to Halley, that did happen. However, it was while contractors were working on fastening the rest of the roof that they noticed another piece of concrete on the building where the roof could not simply be fastened down. They made the decision, Halley said, in error to use the glue.
Halley called the evacuation on Monday a "non-event" and said that the building had been evacuated in error.
"Some teachers contacted the building inspector who contacted the fire department," Halley said. "The contracting firm was not even there working on Monday."
The building was evacuated for less than an hour on Monday morning before fire officials decided that the situation was not dangerous and that the school day could continue.
"We used an Ultra Meter that we had gotten from the Cranston fire department to test for chemicals," said Murray. "It concluded that the chemicals in the building measured one part per million." Unsafe levels, he said, would be one-hundred parts per million.
That fact, however, did not comfort many of the parents of Stony Lane students and some residents of North Kingstown.
"This is the third roofing project that has caused major disruptions to our schools, the educational process and to the health and safety of our students," said school committee member Bill Mudge.
Mudge also said that he believed the project was required to have an onsite inspector who is charged with keeping an eye on things and reporting back to the school department, per the project's contract. Halley, however, said that he "does not believe that the contract calls for an onsite inspector."
Jim Larisa, assistant administrator of Occupational Safety for the state, said that there is supposed to be an onsite inspector or foreman on the job to make everyone aware of the situation.
"Once they discovered the cement, they should have immediately stopped," Larisa said of the workers. "They should have either waited until dismissal time and finished the next day."
The work at Stony Lane was completed on Friday. Roof replacement work at Forest Park began this week.
"Until the roof is completed, Forest park is to remain closed," Larisa said. "I will make a visit to the school to make sure it is okay before the students come back."
Students at Forest Park had a Professional Day Monday and the holiday on Tuesday. Another Professional Day was scheduled for yesterday, but was later moved to Friday because of the rain forecast.
Those involved are hoping that the third time is the charm and that the Forest Park project does not experience any of the problems that have occurred at Davisville Elementary and Stony Lane in the past two months.



©The Standard Times 2003