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2 Schools Lowest In Hillsborough Air Quality Ranking

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TBO.com

Published: December 12, 2008

Ever wonder about the air your child breathes? One national newspaper is urging parents to look more closely outside the schoolhouse door.

USA Today spent eight months examining the impact of industrial pollution on the air outside schools nationwide. Using a government model for tracking toxic chemicals, the newspaper ranked 127,800 public, private and parochial schools based on the concentrations of chemicals likely to be in the outside air.

The paper cautions that its model is a "screening tool," not an in-depth analysis, noting there is no clear line between dangerous and safe. Parents instead should use the data to ask more questions, editors say.

The schools to receive the worst air quality ranking in Hillsborough County are the Tampa Marine Institute at the Port of Tampa and the Orient Road Jail juvenile justice school program. The newspaper rated each in the second percentile of its report, which means that only 1 percent of the schools it studied had higher toxicity levels.

The worst in Florida: Hale Academy in Ocala. Only 10 schools nationwide have worse air quality.

To view others, visit www.usatoday.com. A sampling of Hillsborough County rankings follows:

The worst

Tampa Marine Institute

Second percentile

Chemicals most responsible: copper, chlorophenols, manganese, glycol ethers and xylene

Polluters most responsible: Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., International Ship Repair & Marine Services Corp., Gulf Marine Repair Corp., Gulf Coast Recycling Inc. and Tampa Electric Co.

Orient Road Jail

Second percentile

Chemicals most responsible: lead, sulfuric acid, nickel and polycyclic aromatic compounds

Polluters most responsible: Gulf Coast Recycling Inc., Apac Southeast Inc., Tampa Electric Co., CD McIntosh Jr. and Mosaic Fertilizer Inc.

Spoto High School

Fifth percentile

Chemicals most responsible: trimethylbenzene, copper, sulfuric acid, xylene and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: International Ship Repair & Marine Services Corp., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Tampa Electric Co., Progress Energy and Gulf Coast Recycling Inc.

Meacham Alternative School

Fifth percentile

Chemicals most responsible: trimethylbenzene, copper, sulfuric acid, xylene and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: International Ship Repair & Marine Services Corp., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Tampa Electric Co., Progress Energy and Gulf Coast Recycling Inc.

The best

Walker Middle School

43rd percentile

Chemicals most responsible: Sulfuric acid, nickel, lead, copper and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: Progress Energy, Tampa Electric Co., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Mosaic Fertilizer Inc.

Outreach Christian School

42nd percentile

Chemicals most responsible: Sulfuric acid, nickel, lead, copper and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: Progress Energy, Tampa Electric Co., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Mosaic Fertilizer Inc.

Bryant Elementary School

41st percentile

Chemicals most responsible: Sulfuric acid, nickel, lead, copper and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: Progress Energy, Tampa Electric Co., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Mosaic Fertilizer Inc.

Farnell Middle School

41st percentile

Chemicals most responsible: Sulfuric acid, nickel, lead, copper and chlorophenols

Polluters most responsible: Progress Energy, Tampa Electric Co., Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Mosaic Fertilizer Inc.

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