Western-Star.com

A local business will be audited after a recent newspaper report claimed the air around Fairfield High School could be toxic.

However, local and state Environmental Protection Agencies say reports of bad air are doubtful.

A USA Today study, published Dec. 8, ranks the air quality at 128,000 public, private and parochial schools based on emissions filed in 2005 by industrial sites. It ranked air outside FHS in the second-percentile, worse than 127,800 schools in the country. School officials said the building is air-conditioned, air is filtered and no odors are evident outside the building.

The nearest industrial business, Terry Asphalt Materials, Inc., took the blame for allegedly emitting carcinogenic toxins into the air, but company leaders said accusations are unfounded.

"We are confident there is no health risk posed by our product," said President Dan Koeninger.

The company receives shipments of liquid asphalt by train or tanker trucks, stores it and in the spring heats it to ship to contractors in Ohio.

"All of our products end up on the road, period," he said. "They're all very safe. Our factory is clean and organized. We have every permit environmental agencies require us to have and we operate within those permits."

Furthermore, he said the wind blows from the air conditioned high school toward his factory to north east.

Environmental Compliance Specialist Bonnie Pray of the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services said she will do a compliance audit Wednesday, Dec. 17 to determine if emission numbers submitted to the Ohio EPA are accurate. If not, she said there would be additional studies. However, there are no red flags, she said, and other industries nearby have more reported emissions or pollutants than Terry Asphalt Materials. She said the USA Today report did not include other emissions or all carcinogens, but rather zeroed in on companies that use certain chemicals.

"It seems to be a smaller analysis of a certain selective group of toxic chemicals," she said. "I think we have to look at it and kind of come to our own judgement."

RBR Consulting Chief Toxicologist, Bruce Fishman, said the amount of emissions from the asphalt company are minimal and not harmful. He said the reports were not used as intended and conclusions were inaccurate.

Ohio EPA spokeswoman Heather Lauer said the newspaper used a government method that takes into consideration worse case scenarios for chemicals emitted, as well as meteorology, to determine where the worst air might be.

The Ohio Department of Education in collaboration with the EPA told parents there is no need to worry.

"This reflects a quick snapshot of air data and estimates of potential impacts on localized quality," stated a letter to superintendents. "We will be reviewing the data that USA Today utilized and will use this information as a starting point to evaluate what additional inquiries and investigations may be necessary."