Bronx borough president takes up school PCB fight

Some public schools in the area and citywide contain dangerous levels of chemicals known as PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — and local officials, parents and teachers want the Department of Education to do something about it, and do it fast.

On Sept. 2, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. held a press conference in Manhattan, urging the DOE to expand PCB testing to all public schools built from 1950 to 1978.

“That would be the time that these things were common construction materials,” John DeSio, communications director for the Bronx borough president, said.

In February 2010, The Riverdale Press reported that John F. Kennedy High School, PS 24 and PS 95 were found to have unacceptable levels of PCBs hiding in window insulating caulk.

In response to rising concern, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the DOE launched a pilot program that tested five schools for the harmful substance. Three of the five institutions, including PS 178 and PS 309 in the Bronx, were found to have “highly accelerated” levels of PCBs, according to Mr. DeSio.

PCBS were banned in 1978, but before then were often added to caulk surrounding windows, doorframes and other building material to keep it pliable.

“Studies have shown associations between children’s exposure to low levels of PCBs and leukemia, disturbance of immune function and reduced IQ. Such studies have also linked low exposure levels in adults with attentional deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension,” according to a press release from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest.

But Mr. DeSio said the DOE is resistant to testing because it is expensive.

“What the DOE is saying is that it costs too much to do this across the board,” he said. “Right now we’re advocating for full testing. We know there’s a cost issue but we do not feel that the safety of children is a cost argument.”

Mr. DeSio said Mr. Diaz is pushing for funding at the city, state and federal level, but added that the current focus is on pressuring the DOE to agree to widespread testing.

“New York City is the first city in the country to do this kind of pilot program with [the] EPA, which will give us better information about PCBs and the best practices for remediation,” Natalie Ravitz, spokesperson for the DOE, said in an e-mail. “But this is an ongoing pilot — we don’t yet have final results of the testing and remediation that we are doing in the three schools this summer. And, while we understand parents’ concerns, the EPA has said that there is no immediate cause for alarm.”