The Glen Cove School District has removed all gym flooring in the middle and high schools found to contain and leak mercury vapor, with the high school’s auxiliary gym testing at nearly four times the legal limit.
The new floors will be installed pending clean air lab results, and the district announced a tentative completion date of Sept. 29, at its board of education meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
“The good news is, as of this point, all mercury-containing flooring from both the middle school and the high school has been 100% removed,” said Ed McGuire from J. C. Broderick & Associates, the environmental and construction consulting firm working with the district.
“The health of the children of this school district, and the health of the teachers who are exposed to the air quality when they’re teaching, is the only important thing here,” said resident Jannet Blatt.
In 2019, the state Environmental Conservation Law banned mercury-containing flooring in schools, which had previously been installed in many school gyms, cafeterias, and auditoriums between the 1960s and early 2000s.
The state Department of Health said that high levels of mercury vapor can cause memory loss, headaches, sleeplessness, and nervous system damage, among other symptoms.
The 2019 law sets an exposure limit of 750 nanograms per cubic meter of air (ng/m3). The high school’s auxiliary gym tested at levels of 2,940 ng/m3, almost four times the legal threshold. The middle school gym came in at 330 ng/m3, well below the limit.
McGuire said the firm performed a mercury screening test in Finley Middle School on July 2 and in the high school on July 31. He said mercury vapor was not present in any surrounding areas, including the high school’s main gym and weight room.
“The mercury vapor that was detected within the gym was only in the gym. No other areas were affected,” he said.
He said the affected gymnasiums were immediately shut down, and that the flooring was removed in Finely between Aug. 14 and Aug. 30, and from the high school between Aug. 13 and Aug. 28
McGuire said all airborne mercury screenings since the removal have tested below the state’s actionable level, and the firm is also awaiting “final clearance” quality-assurance lab tests.
Board Member Brett Miller asked McGuire how New York State’s “actionable level” compares to others, and McGuire said it is one of the “strictest” levels in the country.
“We are waiting for the clean air lab results to start the flooring installation, which we hope to be on Sept. 8,” said Assistant Superintendent of Business Theresa Kahan. She said a tentative completion date for all gyms is Sept. 29.
McGuire said once the results are cleared, the new flooring can be applied. He said no further testing is required after the new floors are laid, but that the district wishes to perform quality-assurance testing in the future, the firm would be able to do so.
Blatt said that the district should continue testing, despite what the firm says.
“It is not acceptable to take an expert saying ‘this, and if you want, we will do more.’ You need to do more,” Blatt said during public comment. She said she would like weekly testing for at least six months.
Resident Diana Thuman asked whether the elementary schools had any testing or elevated mercury testing, and how often testing had been conducted in the past. Doeschner said answers to her questions would be presented at the next board meeting.
