Board of Health to discuss

Belmonte air qualityBy Chris Stevens/The Daily ItemSAUGUS-The Board of Health will meet tonight to put to rest concerns over the Belmonte Middle School’s air quality.Superintendent Richard Langlois said the board’s monthly meeting will me held in the middle school auditorium and a review of the air quality test conducted on the school in January is on the agenda.The school was tested at the start of the year after a complaint was filed regarding a child who had become sick from what some thought was the quality of the air in the school.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said back in January that preliminary results showed the air was fine. Bisignani also said the gist of the report indicated that the vents were operable. Elevated carbon dioxide was noted in rooms occupied by more than 20 students when no windows were open, but the corridors and rooms with less than 20 students were below or within the “comfort range.”He also said air particulates were reported below the danger threshold and no water was evident, thus there were no mold issues.Since the tests were conduced, work has been done to clean, repair and, in some cases, replace all the classroom vents. Work has also begun in relation to installing a new boiler system, which will run on gas and not oil.Air quality issues are nothing new in the School Department. Concerns have also been raised in regards to the air quality in the Lynnhurst School as well as the High School in the past.However, Bisignani said he hopes this study will put to rest concerns at the middle school at least.Michael Feeney from the State Air Quality Department conducted the tests and will be on hand to explain the results to the board and anyone else interested in attending the public hearing, which begins at 6:15 p.m.