In timing that has been viewed as somewhat suspicious, town inspectors went to Secaucus High School on Feb. 26 to investigate a reported smell of gas in the classrooms.
Town officials have charged that the Board of Education knew about the gas smell since early February but had failed to notify the town. Once the town found out from parents, they said, they investigated themselves. The board, on the other hand, said they were already looking into the problem.
The timing seemed suspicious because the town’s inspection came just one day after Board of Education President Paul Amico had withdrawn from a re-election bid, a move that suggested that he might run for Town Council.
A heating unit – whose venting was installed wrong – had caused some concern at the high school after students and teachers reported smelling gas last month. It was being addressed by the board’s Building and Grounds Committee, according to the board.
“Town officials are acting like we kept this secret,” Amico said after the news reached the local daily newspaper. “But they knew about it. We told New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and we brought in people from OSHA.”
OSHA, which stands for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is the federal agency responsible to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.
“Several teachers complained about a gas smell,” said Board Attorney Denis Maycher. “Since we had new HCVA units installed about 24 months ago, we decided to check out the situation”
The gas operated heating units were part of a change-over of systems at the high school two years ago. Teachers did not report the smell all the time. Maycher said the problem was soon isolated to the heating system. He said the smell came only when the heating system operated.
“We called the manufacturer, and brought in PSE&G to test the air,” he said.
The test proved negative, but the smell persisted. Maycher said the board then notified Hudson Regional Health, a county agency whose testing equipment was designed to pick up trace amounts of gas.
“We got a reading,” Maycher said.
School officials speculated as to the source and checked with Williams Company, which has gas storage tanks across the river. From time to time, they discharge gas into the air as part of cleaning out their system. Maycher said the company had not released gas during the times in question.
School officials then found that the problem might lie in the school’s own equipment. They discovered that a gas line nipple to seal the vents may have been the cause. They noted that one of the air vents had been installed backwards. One of the intake vents was installed facing the wrong direction so that at low tide, people in the building could smell methane meadow gas.
The condition is a particular problem when the moon is full or there is a new moon, said Amico. The water level falls low and meadow gas is released. With the vents pointed the wrong way, the smell gets into the school.
A committee of the Board of Education has been looking into how to remedy the situation, and perhaps into legal action, according to board officials. Maycher, however, said the manufacturer is working with the school to fix the system, and that kids were never at risk. Rumors about the smell have reached disturbing extremes, claiming that children were at risk of getting ill.
“No one has become ill on account of this, and children are not at risk,” Amico said.
Amico, who had not yet said if he would run for council, questioned the timing of the inspection by town officials. He said he would not allow this situation to become another Keystone controversy. Contamination spreading off the site of the former Keystone Metal Finishing Plant was instrumental in a 1999 Democratic primary battle. Amico, if he runs for council, would be challenging Democratic Incumbent Michael Grecco, part of the team that benefited from 1999 campaign.
“If anyone is trying to make a political issue out of this, they are crazy,” Amico said. “I made a pledge when I came on this board to always think of the kids first. If there was any danger, I would have been the first to yell.”
Town Administrator Anthony Iacono said no one is playing politics, and that the board failed to notify the local Board of Health that there was a possible problem.
“We found out about it when some parents contacted us and said there was some kind of testing going on at the high school,” Iacono said. “I checked with the local health official and Hudson Regional to find out if they knew anything about it. No one had notified them. If there is testing, local health officials have to be notified.”
Iacono said no one knew what the problem was at first, and the situation could have been much more serious.
“This is something that has our health officials disturbed as well as officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection,” Iacono said. He said that it wasn’t the school that brought in Regional Health to test, but the town. “We had the situation resolved within 24 hours.”
Iacono, however, said the Board of Education knew about the situation for nearly two weeks without reporting it.
“That’s what the problem is,” he said. “Fortunately, it was only a minor leak from one of the heaters. What if it was something more serious? One janitor at the high school told us the testing was going on in mid-February. If it was a more serious situation, no one would have known.”
Iacono refuted the claim that this was a political issue.
“When it comes to the welfare of our children, no one is playing politics,” he said.