"The location of a new school in Silicon Valley is attracting heavy criticism from parents and air quality experts, who fear its close proximity to a concrete plant may pose serious and long-term health risks to students.
An NBC Bay Area Investigation reveals the approval process to build Stratford School, a private elementary and middle school, right next to the Tri City Rock concrete plant was the result of an unfortunate chain of events that included inaccurate permit applications, poor communication between government agencies, and other bureaucratic blunders.
“I was playing at recess, and then a giant dust cloud came,” said Charlotte Tsui, an 8 year-old-student at Stratford. “The first time, I had no clue what it was … some of the kids start breathing really fast and start whimpering.”
Tsui said plumes of dust occasionally blow onto the school playground from the adjacent concrete plant.
“It makes me nervous,” said 5-year-old Glen Wong, who feels responsible for protecting his classmates. “I run to everybody and then I warn them.”
The process of making concrete can send microscopic chemicals into the air, which can cause respiratory problems and heart disease, according to the federal government.
Eric Meng, 11, had to go to the doctor when some of the dust lodged in his eye.
“I became worried that it may become infected, and maybe I could have the potential to become blind,” Meng said, recalling doctors saying the dust scratched his eye. But the fifth grader said he healed without any long-term effects after a course of antibiotics.
The National Institutes of Health and several other federal agencies, including OSHA, CDC and the EPA have reported on the health hazards of dust from concrete manufacturing facilities. Ultra-fine particles in the dust can lodge into the lungs, ultimately traveling to the heart. As a result, exposure can cause respiratory problems and even lead to cardiac arrest." (
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