Dear Fairport School Community:

As you may be aware, in the past few months we have been in contact with members of our school community regarding the odors from the Waste Management (WM) High Acres Landfill. I would like to update you on where we are as District – as we have been working with the Town of Perinton Supervisor Mike Barker, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and officials from WM – to resolve this issue.

While the odor issues continue to be present from the High Acres Landfill, we have been told that WM is still in the process of mitigating the areas of the landfill that are causing the odor events. The expected completion of repair and installation of additional controls is next month.

We are working with WM to sample air for hydrogen sulfide levels – a colorless gas with a rotten-egg odor.  Subsequently, the Dudley/Northside complex will have a continuous air quality monitoring device installed on the roof of the Dudley building. This protocol has been coordinated between WM and our Environmental Hygienist, so we can receive assurances on the air quality. Having an air quality device securely installed on site for an extended time will provide us with consistent and reliable data points. It is anticipated that the air monitoring device will be installed within the next month.

The hydrogen sulfide levels will be compared to the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (6 CRR-NY 257-10.3) standard one-hour limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb). This limit was developed because some individuals may have some effect when continuously exposed to hydrogen sulfide at a level of 10 ppb for at least one hour. Odors can unreasonably interfere with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property. As per NYSDOH Hydrogen Sulfide Chemical Information Sheet, some people can smell hydrogen sulfide at very low levels, as low as 0.5 parts per billion (ppb) in air.

During this air quality testing period, we will be actively reviewing the air sample data with our Environmental Hygienist and working with WM to assure that the environment is safe and appropriately monitored.  Please stay tuned for future updates on this matter.

As always, the welfare of our students and staff is of utmost importance; we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing comfortable, healthy and safe learning environments.

Sincerely,

Brett Provenzano
Superintendent of Schools