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Oct 5, 2008 3:39 pm US/Pacific

Toxic Chemicals Found Near Santa Cruz Co. School

DAVENPORT, Calif. (AP) ― Air quality regulators on California's central coast say they have found high levels of a cancer-causing chemical in the air around a Davenport elementary school and fire department.

Tests conducted by the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District this summer found eight times the agency's acceptable level of chromium 6 at Pacific Elementary School.

Testers found 10 times the acceptable level of the chemical at the fire department in Davenport, a small town along the Santa Cruz County coast.

Agency officials say they believe the chemical is originating in dust blown from a nearby cement plant, which is cooperating with officials to curtail the use of high chromium materials.

Chromium 6 is blamed for causing cancer after long-term human exposure.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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