Uniontown Parents Upset After Students Sickened By Carbon Monoxide
UNIONTOWN (KDKA) -- Parents are blaming construction work at Uniontown High School after nine students were sickened by carbon monoxide.
But the district is still trying to figure out how carbon monoxide is making students sick.
"My son called home this morning sick from school," Sigrid Dennis, a mother, said. "The nurse had called me, asked me if I'd come pick him up. I did and took him straight to the ER and his elevated carbon monoxide level is a 3.4."
Her son's CO level is a bit higher than the average 1.6 to 2.6 originally reported by some students late last week – not lethal but of concern.
"Something like this, students shouldn't be allowed in school," Robert Doan, a victim, said.
Autumn Delbridge was also affected by the carbon monoxide.
"When we came in last week and we couldn't breathe in some of the hallways – I have asthma and I almost passed out in class a couple times from it and I thought it was just because I was sick," she said. "I missed over 20-some days of school already just because [of] being at the school."
The school says all the tests turn up nothing definitive, so they will look at stopping construction during school hours.
"Everything has been turned over to the construction manager and the superintendent for those considerations," Principal Thomas Colebank said. "And he talked with the parents this morning, they're going to go in stages and the first stage the parents have asked for is to stop the construction during school time and let's see what happens then."
So far, nine students have reported getting sick, but the district says that number could increase.
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Uniontown School District
CDC: Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Fact Sheet
