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?

Monday, June 23, 2008

PCB bill in NY State Assembly

This is interesting. I just stumbled on it. Glad to see our representatives in Albany are taking notice of this issue. Since Rosenthal is the only name on the bill, I am guessing it is Linda B. Rosenthal who is the assembly person for the upper west side of Manhattan where PS 199 is located. That school community has been very active in making their voices heard on this issue as I have written about before. The bill is currently in the Committee on Education so I recommend you urge your representatives in Albany to support this bill.

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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.