PCB Free

This blog is about Polychlorinated Biphenyls, a toxic compound that the US banned in the 1970s, and their societal impact especially related to schools in New York city. In the 1960s and 70s PCBs were widely used in building materials such as caulk which is still in place in many older buildings including many New York city schools. What does this mean for kids and teachers who spend the majority of their days in these buildings and what is being done to address this issue?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cleaning schools of PCBs

One of the main issues that I have heard is how does a school that has been found to have PCBs in the dust keep itself clean in a way that will ensure the PCB contaminated dust is minimized on an ongoing basis. NY city officials have said that no special chemicals or materials are needed only soap and water to wet wipe up the dust and a vacuum cleaner with a proper filter since sweeping only moves the dust around and kicks it up into the air creating a more hazardous environment. Well, according to the NYC Department Of Education's general facilities cleaning plan, sweeping is the primary way to clean up floors and not by using vacuums. I think someone needs to take a closer look at this and make some changes.

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Call for Schools to be PCB Free!

PCBs are a serious health issue that has come to light recently in New York City which has approximately 266 schools that were built in the 60s and 70s when PCBs were widely used in building materials such as caulking. However, PCBs in schools potentially effects children and teachers around the country and must be addressed at the national level. Join us in calling for PCB Free schools across the country. What do we want:

Testing of all suspect school buildings across the country that may contain significant levels of PCBs.
Safe removal of school building materials that have PCB levels above 50 ppm in accordance with federal regulations.
Develop and implement federally mandated cleaning guidelines across all suspect schools until PCB contaminated materials can be removed.