May 30th, 2006

Asbestos testing at Reeves Middle School in Olympia have shown that the air is safe enough for the school to re-open as normal. Testing was carried out for asbestos and other hazardous contaminants following a fire earlier on in the week. Asbestos levels during testing were shown to be way below the legal limits.

Peter Rex, an Olympia School District spokesman, stated: "We're looking at a building that's getting a good, clean bill of health." He added that a second clean up of the area had been arranged following the completion of testing and confirmation that there was no danger from air pollutions.

A number of staff members complained of feeling sick last week, which is when officials decided to close the school until thorough testing had been conducted in order to determine whether any contaminants and pollutants were present.

Officials believe that the nausea and illness experience by the staff may have been related to something in the carpets, as these were soaked by sprinklers at the time of the fire.