Monfredo: PCBs - A Problem In Our Nation’s Schools & In The District

Sunday, November 27, 2016

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™

According to a Harvard University study nationwide there is an estimated 30 percent of K-12 students and staff being exposed to unhealthy levels of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls, ( PCB) through common building materials found in schools. It’s found in the caulking, fluorescent lights, and sealants to just name a few of the materials used in schools built between 1950 to the late 1970’s. The study points out as the building materials and lights age, PBCs spread into the air as dust, where students and staff breathe. The Harvard study estimates that 13,000 to 26,000 schools could contain PCBs.

Among those schools affected are the Worcester Public Schools. The teachers’ union, the Educational Association of Worcester, has been asking for the right to test for PBCs since 2009. School officials at that time did not agree. However, the Department of Labor Relations this year upheld the union’s position that it has the right to test caulk at Burncoat and Doherty High Schools.

In October I filed an agenda item “to request administration drop the appeal and allow PBC testing at Burncoat High School and at Doherty High School this school year and do whatever is necessary to correct the problem.” My colleague Dianna Biancheria, signed on to the motion. At the meeting, former Mayor Raymond Mariano argued that there is a need to test for PBCs now and in his testimony stated that his wife, a Burncoat teacher, contracted breast cancer as well as several other staff members throughout the years who worked at Burncoat.

Keep in mind that PCBs are labeled probable carcinogens by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency. The term probable is used when a chemical is known to cause cancer in animals and where there is evidence that suggests that it causes cancer in humans but the evidence is not conclusive.

This is a health matter that needs to be addressed for PCBs were banned by the EPA in 1979. Dr. David Carpenter, director of the center of health and environment in Albany Medical School stated, “What really needs to be done is that the caulk needs to be removed from the schools so there are no PCBs in the air, and people can continue to work.” He went on to say the reality is that PCBs do pose a very significant risk even if they’re left undisturbed, for PCBs in the caulk slowly goes into the air, where they volatilize, and when they do, people breathe them in and may become ill.

Others in the field of science and health argue that we need to apply the precautionary principle to protect school employees and students who work and learn in these buildings. Quite frankly we need to address the issue now and not later. We can’t be so concerned about how much it will cost to rid it from the schools for how much of a cost are we placing on those staff members and students who are exposed to it on a daily basis?

Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey recently released a report on this issue by calling for mandatory testing for PCBs in schools built during that time period (1950 to 1979) and have parents be notified of the test results. He also wants the Federal Government to pay for testing and remediation. The EPA is recommending reducing the contamination by removing PCB based fluorescent light fixtures, removing caulking and other materials during planned renovations and by keeping PCB-laden dust to a minimum by mopping and using wet rags.

Our school district has been ahead of other school districts on this issue for In Worcester, since 2004 the city has partnered with the Massachusetts School Building Authority providing approximately $260 million of investments into a number of schools through building replacement projects and accelerated repair projects. In 2010 the district created an Environmental Management System Committee to address all environmental materials in schools.

Then, in 2011 the district met with the EPA regarding plans to access buildings for the presence of PCB material. Thus, work at a number of buildings has been on-going as Best Management Practices went into effect in the Worcester Public Schools. Those practices included the removal of unlabeled ballasts, HVAC work to address air intake optimization and system balancing, targeted surface cleaning in all schools, as well as ongoing work in the weatherization of windows with caulking and glazing over existing material.

This coming Monday, November 28th, there will be a meeting at the Burncoat Middle School Friel auditorium to address this issue with experts in the field. The intent of the meeting is to inform the public and to come up with a plan to address the needs of Burncoat High School and Doherty High. Given the age of the buildings and when they were built there is a good possibility that there are PCB contaminates within the buildings. We need to address the issue with a time table to replace the windows and do whatever it takes to remove PBCs from those buildings as we have done in other schools in our district. Let’s also call upon our state and the federal government to lend a helping hand.

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Monfredo: PCBs - A Problem In Our Nation’s Schools & In The District

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