WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — School officials say no health risks have been identified at Mount Greylock Regional School. 

 

The school was closed Friday to allow engineers to check the heating and air conditioning system after a number of complaints about an odor in the new academic wing.

 

Superintendent Kimberley Grady, in an email to the school community on Friday evening, said the building was inspected by a team of licensed professionals that included the town's health inspector and the plumbing engineer for the project.  

 

"They assessed the rooftop units, venting and roof stacks for the three-floor Academic Wing in response to concerns regarding the presence of a 'sewage' smell," she wrote.

 

Eco-Genesis, an environmental engineering company contracted to complete air quality screenings, used an LEL ("lower explosive limit") device for screening methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide and oxygen.  

 

Their testing revealed no traces of methane, hydrogen sulfide or carbon monoxide, Grady wrote, and the oxygen readings were within the normal limit at 20.9.  As an extra precaution, the school district requested lab-based tests to be conducted using SUMMA canisters — a type of stainless steel container for doing air sampling. Results from these tests should be available Friday, Feb. 21, before the school reopens from the February vacation week.

 

The academic wing will remain closed during the vacation week to continue testing. Other sections of the school building (specifically the gym, cafeteria and auditorium) will be opened for activities. The individual basketball contests, the Berkshire Country Classic and the Mathias J. Bartels Scholarship fundraiser will continue at the school as planned.