Newark Schools achieve distinction - for being toxic

Newark High School is in the 8th percentile for toxicity in the air among 127,800 schools nationwide. Only 9,296 have worse air.

Carson Elementary is in the 3rd percentile, with only 3,210 having worse air, which is an improvement over the former Conrad Elementary, in the 2nd percentile with only 1,103 out of 127,800 having more dangerous air to breathe.

These facts are from a report by USA Today, a summary of which was published by Editor & Publisher.

Polluters most responsible, according to the report, are Owens Corning, Modern Welding Co. of Ohio Inc., Safety-Kleen Systems Inc. of Hebron, Meritor Heavy Vehicle Systems Llc of Heath, and American Electric Power of Conesville.

Chemicals most responsible, the report said, are formaldehyde, 33%; chromium and chromium compounds, 31%; lead and lead compounds, 10%; ammonia, 9%; and cholorine, 5%.

This is ironic in the extreme, after so much was made over second-hand smoke that smoke-haters pushed through a statewide law to clean up their restaurants' air.

That Newark's air is crappy has never been a secret, something everyone can see and smell, but nobody has the guts to square off with the polluters. Nor will they until citizens get up and make it happen.

There was never a more urgent or important service we could provide for our kids than to give them good air to breathe.