Construction site fumes sicken students, staff at D.C. elementary school

Fumes from a construction project near a D.C. elementary school sent one staff member to the hospital, sickened children and triggered an evacuation of the campus, fire officials said.

Staff at Cleveland Elementary School first noticed the smell shortly after morning arrival on Tuesday and evacuated the building, Taeneress Griffin, the principal, said in a message to families. D.C. Fire crews who responded were unable to identify any safety concerns and cleared children and staff to reenter by 9:15 a.m.

But the problem persisted, and an hour later people inside the school reported feeling sick, Griffin said. Fire crews returned about 10:35 a.m., officials said.

Crews said the smell was coming from a nearby construction site in the Shaw neighborhood, where workers were laying hot asphalt.

Skip to end of carousel Make the most of the DMV with our newsletterMake living in D.C. a little easier and more fun. , weather and expert advice — where to eat, where to drink and how to get around — every weekday. End of carousel "The HVAC system in the school sucked the odor in; that's what was making people feel ill," said Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the D.C. fire department.

Exposure to fumes that come from asphalt — which is made with petroleum — can cause headaches; fatigue; throat and eye irritation; and other symptoms, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration . Griffin said the construction site agreed to shift odor-producing tarring to the weekend. There will, however, be more construction near Cleveland's playground on Sept. 23 and 24 and recess will be moved inside, she said.

. Emergency responders evaluated 24 children and four adults. They did not need additional medical attention, officials said on social media. Another adult was sent to the hospital.

The school closed for the day, and students and staff from Cleveland were evacuated to a nearby church while fire crews ventilated the school building. Families were able to pick their kids up from the church, parents said.

Griffin said air quality inside the school is back to normal and more tests will be done before arrival on Wednesday.

Jessica Kahanek, who has a kindergartner at the school, said she watched the evacuation unfold while working at home across the street. When she went outside to figure out what was going on, the air smelled like gas, she said.

"I just happened to be here and see it," she said. She quickly messaged other kindergarten parents.

Kahanek said her son was feeling "fine," but by midafternoon, she and other parents were still waiting to learn more details from D.C. Public Schools. "They lost a day of learning, parents lost a day of work, and we don't know what tomorrow holds," she said.

Kahanek said the construction site that spewed the fumes has caused other issues for the school of about 300 children — from rats to the stench of nearby temporary bathrooms. "This just sort of feels like the latest in an ongoing beat of 'our students deserve better,'" she said.

The issues at Cleveland follow similar problems at Shirley Chisholm Elementary School, where gas odors caused several evacuations in the spring. An inspection of the Southeast Washington building found a leak in an abandoned gas line that corroded behind a wall inside the school, officials told parents in June. The line — and four other unused lines — were removed.