From surrounding gas wells and low pressure hydrofracking to a TCE spill that dates back to 1970, there has been no shortage of environmental concerns raised as the LeRoy school district and community continue to try and pinpoint a cause for the Tourrette-like illness more than a dozen high school teens have reported experiencing.

Although an indoor air quality review was conducted at the school by the Genesee Valley Educational Partnership (GVEP) in December, because of the loud public outcry for answers, the district has hired an independent consultant, Leadership Professional Services, Inc., to conduct a more in depth air quality review and take soil samples.

The senior industrial hygienist overseeing the sampling showed YNN some of the pumps, indoor air quality meters, and other scientific instruments she plans to use to collect the new samples.

"We're going further, we're going to go down to a part per billion level, so we're going to look at a wide range of volatile organic carbons, I call them VOC's, we'll look at 61 different compounds, we'll get down to a one microgram per meter cubed detection limit, which is as sensitive as the instrument analyzing the air can get,” Mary Ellen Holvey said.

Holvey said the tests will be done when school is in session.

She said state health department guidelines, OSHA regulations and parent and resident concerns are helping to shape the scope of Leader’s tests.

"The community can definitely put its faith in me, I mean, I'm there to help them,” Holvey said.

Once the air quality results are in, Holvey said Leader will move forward with soil tests.

The cost of the entire project has not yet been determined. The air quality study alone is expected to cost upwards of $20,000.

“For 30 years you've been doing this,” YNN asked, “Is there anything that you've come across, on any of the projects that you've worked on, that have you ever seen clusters of teens with this type of illness before?”

“No,” said Holvey, “Absolutely not. This is very new. This is very interesting because it’s occurring in a select group of students, and in our experience, environmental stressors don't limit themselves to one group of individuals, it's widespread. It may impact them each differently, but it doesn’t limit itself to a set group of students or individuals."

“So do you think all this testing is worth it?” YNN asked.

"You know, I always say that to my clients, to my commercial clients who say, ‘I don't want to spend money on an indoor air quality study,’ but you know what, if it puts calm back into the community, if it puts those employees’ fears to rest, because they were concerned about this particular type of material or chemical, and you prove that it's not there, then you can begin to relax and not focus on that and realize that maybe it's not that, and it could be something else unrelated," Holvey said.

Leader expects to have the testing equipment inside LeRoy Junior Senior High within the next few weeks.

Holvey said the air quality study will take less than a month. She said those results will help determine the best locations to take soil samples.