Notification and reporting of PCB contamination in city public schools

Good afternoon, Chairman Jackson and distinguished members of the Education Committee. My name is Chris Proctor, and I am the Director of the Safety and Health Department of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT). Thank you for this opportunity to be heard on these important pieces of legislation.

The UFT strongly supports these bills requiring transparency and notification of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure because we believe it is imperative that students, their parents and guardians and school staff be informed when evidence of it is found in schools. The dangers of such exposure are well documented and cannot be dismissed or disregarded. All stakeholders in school communities should have access to all pertinent facts in order to make informed decisions in cases where health concerns are an issue.

We also believe that such information should be reported to the City Council so that it can take steps to monitor potential risks and ensure that schools are maintained as healthful working and learning environments in full compliance with city, state and federal safety regulations.

We certainly want the DOE to be required to report emergency situations involving PCBs. Knowing about such a requirement calling for immediate action on the part of the city could help assuage the anxiety of parents concerned about potential PCB exposure in their children’s schools. Emergency situations could include instances of smoke or burning odors being emitted by T-12 light fixtures, or oil dripping from a fixture.

It’s worth noting that when PCB-related emergencies occur in schools, there are protocols that schools need to follow, including evacuating and isolating the room or area by closing the door/s and opening windows, to help ventilate the space. Use of a fan to exhaust through the windows may be used to assist in ventilating the room, and steps should also be taken to prevent recirculation of the air if there is a general ventilation system. The power to the affected fixture should be interrupted and the bulbs removed.

Arrangements should be made to inspect the interior of the light fixture as soon as possible. If it is determined that the ballast contains PCBs or is assumed to contain PCBs or if the light fixture housing or components have staining that could have come from oil within the fixture:

• The fixture should be removed and replaced.
• The floor/room contents below should be visually inspected for signs of possible leakage. If there is leakage or staining the affected materials should be removed.
• The room should be well ventilated prior to occupancy.

As we noted previously during a Council oversight hearing on the PCB issue last April, we are concerned about the likelihood that hundreds of our schools might contain elevated levels of PCBs that could leak from faulty fluorescent light fixtures.

While we are pleased that the city Department of Education (DOE) is acting to address concerns about PCB contamination through a citywide plan to remove and replace lighting fixtures assumed to contain PCBs, we believe the city’s proposed 10-year timeline is far too long for students and staff to wait. As we stated previously, we think it is wiser to expedite the citywide removal and replacement of pre-1979 light fixtures containing PCBs. We feel that the DOE fails to appreciate the need for urgency and is making the cost of the removal program a higher priority than the potential health risks. We would prefer to see a schedule of two years duration at best and certainly no more than five years at the latest.

Thank you again for your diligence in addressing this issue of great concern for thousands of New York City parents as well as thousands of educators and students.