The maintenance manager for the Churchill County School District worked his last day Friday, saying he is leaving, in part, because of the way the district has handled possible health risks from leaking light fixtures.

"I don't want to be part of a gloss-over of a potentially serious health issue like this," Chuck Hewitt said.

He was referring to fluorescent light ballasts in the district that have failed over the years, leaking PCB, or polychlorinated biphenyls, into classrooms. PCB is a chemical used in light ballasts manufactured before 1979, when it was outlawed.

PCB has been linked to various health problems, including damage to the reproductive and immune systems, hormone disruption, respiratory tract symptoms, liver effects, skin rashes and cancer in animal tests.

Hewitt, who is a certified electrical contractor and consultant in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Nevada, contends the district has not performed proper testing of school buildings to ensure they are not contaminated with PCBs.

He was hired by the school district eight months ago to head the maintenance department because of his extensive qualifications.

Hewitt said many old light ballasts have failed over the years. He is concerned about leaking potting material or PCBs from capacitors that could have tainted surfaces in rooms. He also said the outdated light fixtures remain in Cottage School, the transportation department, grounds building and adult education building.

The district is replacing all pre-1979 light ballasts in Northside and West End elementary schools before school starts Aug. 28 under an emergency contract.

"There are other possible places that have never been checked," Hewitt said about other buildings in the district. "There's been no thorough investigation. If there is an explosion of PCB, how well were they cleaned up? Is there a residual effect? It has not been thoroughly investigated and made public."

In February, Hewitt sent a memo to Jim Sustacha, director of finance for the school district, about lighting issues in the district. Hewitt mentions safety hazards from ungrounded or improperly grounded fixtures and old ballast containing PCBs.

School superintendent Carolyn Ross said Friday Hewitt did not sign a contract to continue working with the school district. She said the contract contained essentially the same terms as the one he signed when hired in November.

"That's the job. You either step up to the plate or not," Ross said.

In an Environmental Protection Agency report entitled, "A Guide for School Administrators: Removing PCBs from Light Fixtures," it warns about effects of a ballast leak or fire.

"A ballast leak or fire could happen at any time, without warning. If it happens in a busy classroom in the middle of the day, a school could be looking at long-term health impacts on many students and staff. Even a small, isolated leak may pose health issues for the staff or students who discover it."

The article also explains that rooms must be decontaminated after leaking PCBs have been cleaned up.

In Fallon, more than 200 old light ballasts went bad since 1999, according to work orders submitted by staff members who reported them. In many of those documents, staff note that the ballast was leaking a black, oily substance or smoking, often accompanied by a foul odor.

A complete lighting retrofit was done at E.C. Best Elementary School in 2000 after an aged light ballast in a classroom caught fire.

Ross said the district has consulted with the EPA, OSHA and other experts for advice on handling the issue.

"We are fulfilling all the regulations and requirements. We want staff and students to feel safe. It's very well that (Hewitt) has an opinion but we're going forward," said Ross.

She said if experts determine more research needs to be done, she will see that it is accomplished.

"No one here wants kids or staff to be harmed. We will certainly look into the accusations made."

Marlene Garcia can be contacted at mgarcia@lahontanvalleynews.com