NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING - EPA considers weakening regulations that will protect children’s environmental health

When: July 29, 2010
Where: Empire Room at Hilton Times Square
234 W 42nd St., NY, NY 10035
Time: 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

Who should be heard?
Parents of children in NYC public schools, Teachers, School Custodians
and other Maintenance Staff, Environmental Justice Advocates, Environmentalists, Environmental Experts, and Concerned Citizens.

Why?
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are highly toxic compounds that were banned in 1978.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering weakening the regulations for PCB contaminated caulk with the possibility of eliminating them altogether. Under the EPA’s current regulatory framework, PCBs at greater than 50 parts-per-million (ppm) “present an unreasonable risk of injury to health.” EPA also states that caulk containing more than 50 ppm PCBs “must be removed.”

PCBs in caulk pose a significant risk to human health, especially children’s
health.

Background:

More than 500 NYC public schools built in the time frame when PCBs were being added to caulk may contain illegal and potentially dangerous levels of PCBs.

The timing of the EPA’s decision to reassess its PCB regulations is highly inappropriate. It comes on the heels of a recent groundbreaking agreement entered into by the EPA and the NYC Department of Education (DOE) to carry out a pilot study designed to generate a citywide clean-up plan. This is an obvious attempt to avoid dealing with the potential costs of cleaning up PCB-contaminated caulk.

The financial cost of protecting human health is not an acceptable basis for refusing to confront the problem or for undermining efforts to come up with effective solutions.

WE NEED YOU TO MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD AND ASK THE EPA TO MAINTAIN THE
CURRENT REGULATIONS!

EPA REQUIRES AN RSVP!
In order to attend or speak at the meeting (identified by docket ID number EPA-HQOPPT-2009-0757) PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL: John H. Smith, National Program Chemicals Division, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Environmental Protection Agency at (202) 566-0512; e-mail address: smith.johnh@epa.gov.
More information can be found here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/2010-14522.htm

For more information about this issue please contact
Gigi Gazon (Community Organizer), ggazon@nylpi.org or
Miranda Massie (Sr. Staff Attorney), mmassie@nylpi.org
at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. (212) 244-4664