Rosengårdskolen in Odense has partially closed after air measurements found excessively high levels of the carcinogenic substance PCB in several school buildings. Block A has been shut down for immediate renovation.
Odense Municipality’s By- og Kulturforvaltning carried out air measurements at the school and found PCB values that were too high. DR Nyheder reports that the substance was detected in several of the school’s buildings.
The information comes from a message sent to parents on Aula by school leader Søren Hansen. He wrote to parents last Thursday that teaching can continue in some rooms while they are refurbished. In Block A, the readings mean the building must be renovated at once, and the block is therefore closed.
PCB was previously used in paint and building materials and is banned today. It is classified as a carcinogenic substance and appears on the EU’s harmonised classification list.
An altered school day for the youngest pupils
According to the school leader, By- og Kulturforvaltningen is working on a renovation plan. While the readings in Block A remain too high, the youngest pupils must prepare for a different school day.
Pupils in grades 1 through 3 are to gather in the main hall, where Hansen and staff will meet them. He asked families to send children with clothes and shoes for changeable weather, as classes will be outdoors more than usual. No one is allowed to enter Block A.
Hansen stated that the school will continue to focus on a good school day for pupils. He also noted that the school follows the guidelines of the Danish Health Authority, Sundhedsstyrelsen, regarding both staff and children.
Measurements above official action values
BT, citing TV 2 Fyn, reports that additional measurements taken over the summer showed certain rooms in Block A exceeding the Danish Health Authority’s action values for PCB in indoor air. Concentrations were recorded at or above 3,000 nanograms per cubic metre in at least three classrooms.
As reported by Licitationen, six air measurements were taken in Block A in total. Three classrooms reached or exceeded 3,000 nanograms per cubic metre, while two further rooms were measured at 2,400 nanograms. In technical coverage of the case, the highest readings are described as roughly ten times the guideline level.
The findings across those rooms formed the basis for the decision to close Block A immediately rather than refurbish it while teaching continued. Elsewhere at the folkeskole, lessons are proceeding in rooms where readings allow it.
Odense Municipality has not published a timeline for the renovation of Block A. The school has told parents that further information will follow as the municipality’s plan takes shape.
