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Students at the St. Croix Central High School, Charles H. Emmanuel Elementary School and the John H. Woodson Junior High School are being asked not to report to school on Friday after more than 25 students reported illnesses as a result of a strong foul odor. Parents are being asked to monitor news media throughout the weekend for updated information on the reopening of the three schools.
After a late afternoon meeting held Thursday between Education Commissioner La Verne Terry and Planning and Natural Resources Commissioner Alicia Barnes, the Department of Education determined it is necessary to close all three schools on Friday. The Department of Planning and Natural Resources also announced that Commissioner Barnes and her Air Quality Management staff are scheduled to meet with Hovensa’s environmental and operational staff on Friday morning in an effort to finally determine the source of the odor.
Thursday was the third consecutive day that the departments of Health and Planning and Natural Resources, along with an US Environmental Protection Agency team, responded to complaints of a foul odor at the St. Croix Central High School that was adversely affecting students. Education officials dismissed students at 1 p.m. for the third day in a row.
By noon, two other schools in the area, Charles H. Emmanuel Elementary School and the John H. Woodson Junior High School, also reported that students were being affected by the foul odor. Students at these schools were also sent home early.
On Thursday, DPNR officials said that based on a process of elimination and coupled with detectable sulfur dioxide field readings conducted by EPA, DPNR is now focusing its investigation on Hovensa as possibly the source of the foul odor impacting the area for the past three days.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, DPNR and the EPA team collected air quality samples and initial readings detected very low concentrations of SO2, or sulfur dioxide, a colorless gas with a pungent odor. Officials said then the level of SO2 was too low to pose a public health threat. However, the two agencies are reviewing its initial assessments.
Samples have also been shipped via express mail to the Eastern Research Group in North Carolina for more analysis and DPNR has asked the EPA to expedite the tests due these exigent circumstances. Once the results from the air testing are completed, DPNR will provide that information to the community.
The Department of Health is urging residents who experience symptoms as a result of the foul odor to seek medical care, following the increase in complaints to the Department subsequent to a series of foul odor events causing symptoms such as skin irritation, itchy eyes and nausea.
District Health Officer Dr. Marc Jerome is advising residents with compromised immune systems to stay indoors and avoid affected areas. Residents who experience significant adverse symptoms should seek medical care.
Health also has reported that its officials remain in contact with its partner-agency, the Poison Control Center of Jacksonville, Florida, as well as the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Both agencies also advise that persons who previously experienced symptoms should avoid re-exposure.
Also, DPNR continues to remind the public that the US EPA has commissioned a Volatile Organic Compound Study in the neighborhoods surrounding St. Croix’s Southern Industrial Complex (SIC). In recent months, in response to residents’ complaints about poor air quality and study will help identify and quantify the presence of any volatile organic compounds in the neighborhoods and closest to the SIC, including the St. Croix Central High School because of its sensitive population and proximity to the industrial site.
In addition to the routine sampling, DPNR received authorization from the EPA to begin a 24-hour sampling run in order to determine the cause of the odor. DPNR staff also participated in field assessments conducted by the US Coast Guard.
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