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A recent carbon monoxide leak at PS 65 in Ozone Park gave some parents another reason to call it the “toxic school” after memories surfaced from recent years when the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation discovered trichloroethylene (TCE) underneath the building. The material was used as a metal cleaner in an airplane part factory that previously existed about a block north of the school.

The most recent toxic vapor incident occurred Dec. 12. Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said health officials found high levels of carbon monoxide in the school on 99th Street early in the morning before students arrived.

“It had to do with the heating unit, but it was cleared up before 8 a.m.,” Feinberg said. Because the heating system needed repairs, the school was closed for the day, but the building was declared safe by health officials, Feinberg said.

Laura Lesko has three children enrolled at PS 65 and also had children in the school during the TCE contamination in 2002. She said they would often come home with headaches and feeling nauseous until a ventilation system was installed to combat the rising plume, which is unrelated to the heating system.

Her children’s ailments have disappeared, but she said the separate incident with the carbon monoxide made her concerned for how well the ventilation system is maintained to deal with the school’s other problem.

“Who actually takes care of that?” she said. “Is that a maintenance issue? Is it done in other schools? Who has control over what goes on with that thing? Does it have to go through Joel Klein’s office? God forbid if something did happen, who do you call?”

The depressurization system was installed and is maintained by the Department of Education, and regular air quality screenings show if the ventilation system is working, the DEC said. However, the actual site of the original contamination—Ozone Industries Class 2 site—“is still being investigated, and the nature and extent of contamination have yet to be determined,” the DEC said in an e-mail.

Although Lesko said she believes the ventilation system has been effective, Patricia Gerig, who has three children in the second and third grades, said her children have been coming home with irritated eyes and headaches so often that she mentioned it to another parent, Leann Green, when they met at a park where their children played.

Green’s son attended PS 65 when the TCE was found and regularly came home lethargic and with swollen eyes. When Gerig told Green about her children’s symptoms, it immediately rang a bell for Green whose son has since graduated from the school.

Despite the ventilation system, Green said she thinks the plume extends into a much larger area and wonders about the long-term effects of its exposure. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, inhaling TCE for long periods of time can cause liver, kidney or nerve damage.

City Councilman Joe Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) has been fielding calls about the carbon monoxide leak and said he can understand their concerns, but cautions against creating “hysteria or rumor” that the school is perpetually unhealthy.

He said that while the school should be documenting when it monitors the ventilation system that shields the school from the TCE fumes, parents should also document their children’s ailments.

“If more than one student has (the same symptoms) that lends to the credibility that there is a problem with school,” he said.

Despite the documented industrial waste under the surrounding properties, Addabbo said a couple parcels of land are being used to build stores, a sign that the soil has been tested and found safe.

Another mother, Jennifer, said she thinks some parents used the recent carbon monoxide leak as a chance to stir up bad feelings from past problems.

“I know for a fact when this whole thing happened they called it the ‘toxic school,’” she said. “They are just trying to open up old wounds.”