09/06/11 This is not a joke

The Board of Education is trying to trivialize the discovery of PCBs on the high school grounds. Typical is this quip from Coach Albanizio:

"Between me and my predecessor, it's been 40 years and

neither one of us has turned green yet."

In contrast, New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler testified in April on PCBs found in New York City Schools:

"The dangers of PCB exposure are well-documented...so much so that Congress banned the chemicals in 1976. PCBs are a known neurotoxin and a fertility toxin, making exposure for children and pregnant women particularly dangerous. The EPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the National Toxicology Program of the National Institute of Health have all determined that PCBs are a probable human carcinogen. Expert environmental health physicians and scientists have linked PCBs to cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and cognitive disabilities.

"Prenatal and early childhood exposure shows serious risks, including ADHD, increased aggression, and the concerns already mentioned. Children can be exposed to PCBs by breathing contaminated air, in addition to ingesting PCB-contaminated food and coming into physical contact with PCBs. The longer... the more intense their exposure becomes, the more risk they bear of developing a serious health condition – or simply of not reaching their full developmental potential."

The PCBs and other contaminants already found at Greenwich High School are a serious matter. Allowing children to play on untested fields just a few feet away from known PCB concentrations is irresponsible. Skin contact with PCBs is a known cause of chloracne. The Town's consultants have already reported finding PCB concentrations at twice the level that automatically triggers federal oversight. Neither the ground under the playing fields and the parking lots, nor the area where MISA construction is planned directly next to the school building, has yet been tested. No tests of any soil or ground water more than 1 foot below the surface have been reported.

The High School playing fields contain from 5 to 15 vertical feet of fill. It is assumed the PCBs were in the fill. The PCBs now on the surface probably migrated from below. All of the fill should be tested to ensure PCBs are not also migrating downward into ground water or draining laterally with surface water.

The extra cost estimates provided by the Board of Education are woefully incomplete. They do not take into account any of the additional necessary testing or remediation, including liability, costs. The final cost will be high--we are talking about the health of our children and our community.

This is not a joke.

Bill Effros

Bill@Effros.com

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