Don Shelton is concerned about health issues at this King George elementary school (background) being built near the county's regional landfill. His child and two grandchildren suffer from asthma, and he doesn't want them attending the school near Sealston. ram Visit the Photo Place

School site raises health concerns

Parent worried about health effects of elementary school built near landfill and power plant

By ROB DAVIS

Date published: 6/3/2004

K.G. elementary close to landfill and power plant

Two miles separate King George's newest elementary school from a power plant and the state's busiest landfill.

Don Shelton says that's too close for his son and two grandchildren, all of whom have asthma.

On Sept. 7, about 550 students in grades K-six will attend their first day of school at the brand-new Sealston Elementary off State Route 603. But Shelton said he will keep his family away to avoid any health effects from spending so much time so close to the landfill and power plant.

"It is a real concern," said Shelton, an auto-body repairman. "I don't know why they built the elementary school and didn't think."

County officials say there is little to Shelton's claims. But some environmental health experts say the concerns are valid enough to consider monitoring the school's air quality.

Two weeks ago, Shelton gave county supervisors a 15-page document that includes reports linking toxic-waste dumps with high cancer rates. The King George Landfill does not accept toxic waste.

In the report, Shelton calls the school site "large-scale human experimentation on elementary-school children" and says landfill gases are a health hazard.

Shelton says he believes landfill operators are doing everything possible to meet state standards, "but there shouldn't be a school beside it--bottom line."

When the School Board and Board of Supervisors both approved the site for King George's third elementary, the western part of the county seemed the obvious choice. The area was growing, and the closest county school was more than eight miles away.

School Board members knew their choice was near the landfill and power plant, but felt it was safe, said board member Rose Marie Ball.

"I really don't feel it's going to be any kind of a threat," Ball said, "no more so than any of our older schools that have asbestos covered or wet things that produce mold spores."

The School Board considered buying land even closer to the landfill and power plant, Ball said, but dismissed them because they were too close or had too much traffic.

Asked if the board weighed potential health risks at the chosen site, Ball referred the question to Superintendent Candace Brown.

Brown said the site was selected before she was hired in March 2001. County supervisors approved the land purchase in November 2002.

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Date published: 6/3/2004