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Fourth Round of Sampling Reveals No Indoor Air Health Concerns at Buildings 50 and 52 at the Bannister Federal Complex

Release Date: 03/30/2011
Contact Information: David Bryan, 913-551-7433, [email protected]


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 30, 2011) - Results of a fourth round of air monitoring in and around a child care facility and an adjacent building at the Bannister Federal Complex in Kansas City, Mo., do not reveal health concerns with indoor air at the facilities related to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), EPA Region 7 officials announced today. The monitoring was the last of four rounds of air testing as part of the comprehensive testing plan at these buildings.

EPA Region 7 and its contractors performed a series of sampling activities Nov. 19-21, 2010, at the two buildings, which are part of the General Services Administration's managed portion of the complex. Building 50 houses GSA's Kansas City South Field Office, and Building 52 houses the Bannister Complex Child Development Center, a child care facility.

This fourth round of tests was taken in the same areas of the buildings as previous tests in February, March and August 2010. The sampling included indoor air tests, as well as supplemental tests of outdoor air and air samples taken from beneath the concrete floor slabs of both buildings. This sampling round included a wide range of volatile organic compounds. Indoor air samples showed no indication of health concerns related to volatile organic compounds. Results of the related sampling do not indicate migration of any vapors from beneath the building that would pose health risks.

EPA will provide GSA with a detailed report regarding the environmental sampling for Buildings 50 and 52 and any possible recommendations for future environmental monitoring.

An air sampling results summary is available at www.epa.gov/region07/cleanup/bannister.