According to a special USA TODAY report, seven Tri-Cities schools rank among the worst 435 in the country when it comes to their proximity to outside pollutants. The report, “The Smokestack Effect: Toxic Air and America’s Schools,” used data from 2005 emissions reports filed by 20,000 industrial sites to come up with its rankings.
“Using the government’s most up-to-date model for tracking toxic chemicals, USA TODAY spent eight months examining the impact of industrial pollution on the air outside schools across the nation,” according to the article. “The model is a computer simulation that predicts the path of toxic chemicals released by thousands of companies.”
According to the USA Today report, out of 127,800 public, private, and parochial schools nationwide, seven in the Tri-Cities received poor grades.
USA TODAY ranked West Greene High School in Mosheim as the 5th worst for outside pollutants. With countless industrial plants across the region, Parley Wheeler of Mosheim expected air quality in the Tri-Cities to be worse than in other areas, but when the father of two learned the neighboring high school ranked among the worst in the nation, he couldn’t believe it.
“I never thought it would be that bad,” Wheeler said. “Number five. That’s scary…I got kids and during the summertime we come out and play and stuff and I don’t really want them breathing toxic air.“
USA TODAY found that nearby plants like DTR Tennessee Inc. and Vistawall Architectural Products Tennessee in Midway are partly to blame for the poor air quality near West Greene High School. USA TODAY also listed Donaldson Co. Inc. Greeneville as a contributing polluter. The news came as a surprise to Greene County Director of Schools Dr. Joe Parkins.
“We never think of those factories as being highly polluted or anything,” Parkins said. “It’s a bit shocking to me.“
Eastman Chemical Company and Holston Army Ammunition Plant in Kingsport are listed as other major pollutants for West Greene and for six Kingsport schools too. According to USA TODAY’s investigation, Johnson Elementary School ranked 45th, Lincoln Elementary School, Palmer Center, and St. Dominic Catholic School all tied for 281st, Jefferson Elementary School came in at 359th, and Tri-Cities Christian School came in at 423rd on the list of worst schools with toxic pollutants nearby.
Still, USA TODAY admitted its report is not conclusive.
“The most important point to remember: The EPA’s model cannot say definitively whether anyone is at risk,” USA TODAY reported. “Instead, it is a screening tool to help identify places where industrial pollution might pose problems.”
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is quick to agree with that point.
“It’s a screening tool and it really shouldn’t be used as a risk-assessment,” TDEC Spokesperson Meg Lockhart said. “It should be used as a first step in a multi-step process.“
Lockhart admitted there is room for improvement, but she insisted air quality is improving in Northeast Tennessee. Still, she said the state supports USA TODAY’s recommendation for the Environmental Protection Agency to further analyze this problem.
“We will continue to work with the EPA and within our own state to ensure that air quality continues to improve,” Lockhart said.
Holston Army Ammunition Plant and Eastman Chemical Company, both listed as top polluters for all seven schools, also weighed in on the report.
“We are within the EPA guidelines for all of the pollutants we release,” Holston Army Ammunition Plant Spokesperson Nancy Gray said. “As long was we are doing what we’re supposed to be doing and are environmentally compliant, that’s pretty much all we can do.”
Meanwhile, Eastman Chemical Company Spokesperson Betty Payne argued the report is misleading. “Their methodology is flawed,” Payne said. “The state did a study (recently) saying there was no cause for concern; there were limited toxins in the air. We don’t think there is a problem.”
Click the Related Link above to view the entire USA TODAY story.
Copyright 2008 TriCities.com: Bristol Herald-Courier & WJHL, Tennesse
