PCBs in Schools - Déjà vu All Over Again
Posted on Fri, Sep 11, 2009 @ 03:24 PM
By Sean Reagan, National Director, Education
This is not the first, nor will it be the last instance, where a hazardous substance is discovered ubiquitously in building materials of schools, colleges and universities.
Approximately 25 years ago, the Asbestos Hazardous Emergency Response Act (AHERA) set forth funding and EPA regulations to address the potential hazards of asbestos containing building materials in our schools systems. Asbestos was used in the manufacture of floor tile, insulation, wallboard and other commonly used building materials. AHERA requires all private and public non-profit elementary and secondary schools to inspect their schools for asbestos containing building materials (ACBM), develop a plan to manage the asbestos in each school building, notify parents and staff regarding the management plan availability, provide asbestos awareness training to school maintenance and custodial workers, and implement timely actions (repair, encapsulation, enclosure, removal) to deal with asbestos that was friable and presented a potential hazard to building occupants.
This approach replaced the hysteria at the time that said ALL asbestos containing materials must be removed from schools. While a significant portion of the asbestos in the buildings required removal - non-friable, intact asbestos managed properly does not pose a risk to building occupants. This common sense approach resulted in cleaner, safer schools and gave school owners/operators an avenue to address the problem.
While this PCB in building material issue is relatively new, presently, an approach to mitigate the actual risks associated with PCBs in building caulking - short of a very expensive and time consuming removal of the caulking and associated contact materials- does not exist.
From a policy standpoint, the EPA should quickly develop interim measures that can be taken by these schools to mitigate the immediate risks and end the paralysis that exists about testing and remediating this problem.