Mayor Okays Study of PCBs In Schools To Satisfy Activists

READY TO COOK: Miranda Massie of the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which had initiated a lawsuit against the city over the prevalence of PCBs in caulk used in school buildings, said that community input was the ‘key ingredient’ of the city’s announcement to study the problem and explore viable solutions. The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang The Bloomberg administration has announced an agreement with a coalition of public education advocates to conduct a comprehensive study of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in caulk used in public school buildings.

The coalition had alerted the Department of Education and the School Construction Authority in 2008 that a study showed that six of nine school buildings tested contained caulk with levels of PCBs—which have been linked to cancers in certain laboratory animals—that exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards. The coalition filed a notice of intent to sue last March after negotiations with the city on how to address the issue stalled.

Lawsuit Dropped

The coalition provisionally dropped the lawsuit last month in light of the agreement, saying that the city agreed to give DOE workers and school parents input during the PCB study.

“That’s critically important for us,” said Miranda Massie, an attorney for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which represented the coalition. “That was one of the key ingredients from our perspective: that the public be involved as it moves forward. That includes community members, employees of the DOE and parents.”

Caulk containing PCBs was commonly used in school buildings between the 1950s and ’70s, and city officials estimated that hundreds of facilities could be contaminated.

The city will test five facilities for PCB levels in caulk and consult with the coalition on ways to address the problem system-wide.

Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo said in a statement: “[The] agreement not only demonstrates the city’s commitment to providing a safe environment for our students and Teachers, but also demonstrates that complex environmental issues can be resolved through cooperative negotiations and without protracted litigation.”