FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Parents of a Fort Mill elementary school are concerned about their children returning to classes after two chemical spills at a neighboring manufacturing facility.
Lisa Higgins won’t be sending her son, Owen, to his 4th-grade class at Flint Hill Elementary School, even though she and her husband, John, say Owen’s been thriving there.
“He can’t be there till we know that he’s safe there,” John Higgins said.
Flint Hill sits near the Silfab Solar manufacturing facility.
Last week, Silfab suffered two chemical leakage incidents.
The company paused operations this weekend for state and federal regulators to assess the facility.
MORE | Silfab Solar agrees to cease operations after 2 chemical leaks in one week
The shutdown was enough for Lindsay Zhao to feel comfortable sending her 2nd grader to Flint Hill on Monday, but she no longer sees her family’s future here.
“I just feel like we’ve lost trust in really every party that’s involved: the school board, York County,” Zhao said. “Now…we have moving boxes out.”
Silfab officials say the first release was up to 300 gallons of water with an amount of potassium hydroxide that holds a slight risk of skin irritation.
The second was a slow-drip leak in a contained area of more dangerous hydrofluoric acid.
Company officials say neither incident posed any risk to employees or the public.
MORE | Fort Mill neighbors want Silfab plant be removed following two leaks this week
“Let me be clear. We follow state and federal protocols and procedures to alert authorities,” Greg Basden, Silfab Solar’s director of operations, said Friday. “If this was an unsafe plant, we would not have brought in 700 people to work here.”
The Higgins won’t send Owen back to Flint Hill until regulators deem Silfab safe. Until then, they’re considering their options for his education.
He’s on board with their decision.
“There needs to be more safety procedures,” Owen Higgins said. “We need to be able to trust them.”
Queen City News crews spotted several South Carolina Department of Environmental Services vehicles visiting Silfab on Monday.
Bridget Lynch kept her 4th-grade daughter home from school. She says she doesn’t trust that the school is safe after the chemical leaks.
“Getting two separate phone calls last week [about leaks] confirms our worst fears around Silfab,” Lynch said. “It’s been an extremely traumatic week for our daughter. She wants to be in school.”
A Fort Mill School District spokesperson said in a statement, “The district is actively exploring a number of alternative options should they be needed, following the outcome of the current investigations by the EPA and SCDES taking place at the Silfab Solar facility. As decisions are made regarding alternative options, we will share updates with our families.”
The spokesperson confirmed about 100 Flint Hill students were absent Monday out of 803 total.
Lynch says she won’t send her daughter back until Silfab is gone and there are no chemicals on the premises.
“We’ve lost a lot of trust in our local officials and the school district, frankly, that our community and our kids are the top priority,” she said.
