SOMERVILLE -- Toxins at Somerville schools are within safe levels in classrooms, but samples taken from attics in the same buildings show amounts of dangerous chemicals higher than that in dust found after the World Trade Center collapse, according to a report released Friday.
The results do not indicate whether those chemicals are a hazard to students and staff, according to K.C. Donnelly, one of three researchers who took samples of attic and floor dust from eight school buildings in December.
"To children who are going to be in those schools for March, April, May, the chemicals that are there don't represent a significant health threat," he said.
Somerville schools Superintendent Charles Camarillo released copies of a 60-page report compiled by Texas A&M University researchers to people who submitted written requests for the information last week, including Somerville residents, parents, media and officials at BNSF Railway and Koppers Industries Inc.
Those two companies are named as defendants in multiple lawsuits charging the companies polluted the town with chemicals from a railroad tie-manufacturing plant, causing unusually high rates of cancer and birth defects among residents.
Officials from the two companies maintain the town is not toxic, and lawyers for both plaintiffs and defendants have cited separate studies supporting their positions.
The school district's toxicity testing has been eagerly awaited by residents who see the study as the first independent analysis of the situation.
Test results released Friday show levels of metals and dangerous chemicals are fairly low in classrooms, cafeterias and on gym floors. But dust samples taken from attics, which represent dust that settles over a longer period of time, show higher concentrations of metals and chemicals.
Low amounts of toxins from floors represent frequent cleaning by schools, Donnelly said.
But, in samples taken from attic spaces, the levels of some chemicals and metals were higher than levels found in New York apartments following the World Trade Center collapse, which the study cites for comparison.
Researchers tested for carcinogens -- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans -- along with metals including arsenic, chromium and copper in each sample.
Tests indicate the toxins came from a nearby wood-treatment plant, said Donnelly, who is head of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health.
The report isn't in-depth enough, he said, to determine to what extent students and staff have been exposed to chemicals.
Officials from Koppers and BNSF said the results support their position that the community is safe.
"We feel that the Texas A&M study provides independent evidence that Somerville students and faculty are not at an elevated health risk from dioxins, arsenic, PAHs, copper and chromium in their schools," BNSF spokeswoman Suann Lundsberg said in an e-mail.
Koppers released a similar statement Friday.
"As a company with employees whose children attend Somerville schools, Koppers welcomes the Texas A&M data and once again commends the Somerville Independent School District for commissioning the study," the statement reads.
Koppers bought the manufacturing plant in 1995 from BNSF Railway, previously the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co., which had owned it since it was built in 1906.
More than 80 lawsuits, including two class-action suits, have been filed against the two companies across the U.S. Last month, a Fort Worth jury ruled in favor of the companies in the first of those cases to go to trial.
A study commissioned by a cancer patient's lawyers found high levels of toxic chemicals in attic dust of Somerville homes. But the companies' lawyers have rebutted the studies, saying attic dust is not an accurate measure of exposure because most people rarely visit or clean their attics.
The results of a similar toxicology study commissioned by Koppers and BNSF were released last week and showed no elevated levels of dangerous chemicals.
But Donnelly and fellow researcher Thomas McDonald said Friday that the district needs to address high levels of toxins in attics soon by cleaning, replacing duct systems or installing air filters in classrooms, among other options.
Somerville school board President Bryan Crook said trustees will discuss what needs to be done in upcoming meetings and will most likely take action once the semester ends.
"Whatever they've recommended, we'll probably pursue," he said.
Camarillo, who refused to answer questions Friday, drew criticism from parents when he announced Feb. 26 that toxicity tests showed the school was safe without releasing the complete report.
The researchers said Camarillo was right in not evacuating or tearing down the schools at mid-semester.
"Camarillo pretty much followed the recommendation we gave him. The only thing that disappointed us was that he didn't release the report more quickly," Donnelly said.
• Janet Phelps' e-mail address is janet.phelps@theeagle.com.
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