Two air samples from Roosevelt Elementary School recently sent to a lab to be scrutinized for asbestos fibers comply with federal air quality standards, according to test results released Thursday.

Officials with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality asked the Medford School District on Monday to hire an environmental consultant to conduct the air quality tests after seeing photographs of a hole in an asbestos tile covering the school’s south stairwell in Sunday’s Mail Tribune.

Airborne asbestos fibers can be inhaled in the lungs; over time, large amounts can cause health problems, including some types of cancer.

Medford-based Coleman Creek Consulting Inc. took air samples at nine locations in the school Monday.

Seven of the nine samples examined under a light microscope showed unidentified fibers below the DEQ clearance level, meaning further investigation was unnecessary.

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Two other samples contained fibers below the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s standard, which is 10 times higher than the DEQ clearance level.

The two samples were sent to a lab to determine whether the fibers were asbestos or came from some other synthetic or plant material, said David Fawcett, asbestos operations director for Coleman Creek Consulting.

Test results indicated one of the two samples had no signs of asbestos, Fawcett said.

A second sample had a trace of actinolite, a form of asbestos, but the amount was below the DEQ clearance level.

"The clearance level means the building can be occupied," Fawcett said.