Overexposure to PCB's

New York City Creates Plan to Remove PCBs in Schools

admin — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 21:14:36 +0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been conducting a pilot program since January to test for polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs in New York City schools when in 2010 tests found the presence of PCBs in schools. The EPA has found PCBs in light ballasts in every Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan school that was inspected.

According to an article posted on News Inferno, The EPA has now suspended the inspection of PCBs in schools as New York City has now come up with plan to remove PCB-tainted light ballasts from the buildings.

New York City announced a $708 million plan, which will take 10 years to remove light ballasts from 772 New York City school buildings. The city had previously resisted the EPA’s urging to clean up the PCBs in schools due to the cost, initially estimated at $1 billion.

“According to The Wall Street Journal, the city’s plan appears to have satisfied the EPA. A spokesperson for the agency said it doesn’t have any more inspections planned in the near future, but ‘we always reserve our rights to inspect.’”

PCBs were used in many materials, especially in construction materials and electrical products between the 1950s through 1978, when they were phased out and officially ban in 1979. Despite the ban, PCBs can still be found in many buildings today. Some common items that PCBs are found in include:

Other electrical equipment including voltage regulators, switches, reclosers, bushings, and electromagnets
Old electrical devices or appliances containing PCB capacitors
Fluorescent light ballasts
Cable insulation
Thermal insulation material including fiberglass, felt, foam, and cork
Adhesives and tapes
Oil-based paint
Caulking Plastics
Floor finishes

PCBs health effects can be very serious as they do not easily degrade and can remain in a person’s body for many years. PCBs health effects include many life-threatening diseases such as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and have been known to affect brain cell development, which may lead to developmental impairments. PCBs health effects can be dangers at even low levels as they can affect the ability to learn by damaging neuron components. These damaged neurons are linked to seizures, schizophrenia and autism.

If you or someone you love has been exposed to PCBs in schools, please fill out our online form or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case with a PCBs lawyer today.

PCBs Found in Three More NYC Schools

admin — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 17:03:57 +0000

PCBs, polychlorinated biphenyls, have been discovered in three more New York City schools. To date, spot checks of New York City schools by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have turned up PCBs leaking from light ballasts in all five of the New York City school buildings tested so far. All of the tests have confirmed leakage of PCBs above the federal limit of 50 parts per million.

The EPA would like the city to remove all older light ballasts that might pose a threat to students, not just the ones found to be leaking PCBs. The city argues that the students aren’t in any immediate danger although PCBs in schools has been found to cause long term effects.

Some of the long term effects of being exposed to PCBS in Schools include:

Developmental and neurodevelopmental impairments, such as hyperactivity
Exposure can affect the ability to learn by negatively impacting dentrite plasticity (damaged denrites are linked to seizure disorders, schizophrenia, mental retardation, and autism)
PCBs also affect ryanodine receptors, which can add to neural circuits becoming over-excited

If you or someone you know have been exposed to PCBs currently or over time in NYC schools, please fill out our online form. Our experienced PCB lawyers may be able to help. We are currently offering free lawsuit consultations to victims of PCB-related diseases and disorders and their families.

Poll: Who should be responsible for the Hudson River PCB cleanup?

admin — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 18:47:00 +0000

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Hudson River PCBs site involves nearly 200 miles from Hudson Falls to New York City’s Battery area and includes communities in New York and New Jersey.

GE released somewhere between 209,000 and 1.3 million pounds of PCBs for decades into the Hudson River. As a result, sediments became contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals, which continue to contaminate the river today. Hudson River PBCs may cause health problems as PBCs prenatal exposure has been known to affect brain cell development and linked to ADHD.

If you or a loved one are concerned about exposure to PCBs in the Hudson River, please fill out our form on the right. You can also contact one of our experienced PCBs attorneys.

Brooklyn, New York: PCBs in Schools

admin — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:30:15 +0000

First discovered in Staten Island schools… PCBs have now been discovered in Brooklyn school buildings. PCBs, in schools built before 1979, have been detected within the light ballasts. The EPA tested 28 samples in the Brooklyn school and found that 18 of the samples contained high levels of PCBs.

Although it would be extremely expensive to decontaminate New York City of the PCBs in schools, dangerous health consequences, including cancer and other life-threatening diseases, have been connected to PCBs exposure. By not solving the issue, students will continue to be exposed to PCBs in schools. Because PCBs do not easily degrade, they can remain in our bodies for many years.

PCBs in caulk and in light ballasts have been the biggest concern of PCBs in schools. PCBs have also been detected in some floor tile samples. PCBs were an element in the construction of schools and in electrical supplies from around the 1950s to 1978. Between those years, countless numbers of students have been exposed to PCBs in schools.

If you or a loved one are concerned about exposure to PCBs in schools, please fill out our online form. You can also contact one of our experienced PCBs attorneys.

PCB Problem at One Staten Island School Fixed, New York City Says

admin — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:35:57 +0000

Tests previously revealed dangerous PCB levels on floor tiles at PS 36; however, recent samples from the two impacted classrooms revealed levels below the standards set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said WNYC. Sam Pirozzolo, president of Community Education Council 31 on Staten Island, said he’s relieved about the results, but has concerns over how the problem was handled by officials. ” They physically told us that every light was inspected, and we looked up and there was a light that was not inspected,” he said, quoted WNYC. “We went around the partition to the cafeteria and found two more lights that had PCB ballast leaks,” Pirozzolo added.

PCBs are man-made chemicals that have been linked to a number of adverse health effects, including, most recently, increased blood pressure. PCBs were widely used in construction materials and electrical products prior to 1978. The toxins can affect the immune, reproductive, nervous, and endocrine systems and are potentially cancer causing if they build up in the body over long periods of time.

Although the two involved classrooms at the school were closed, PS 36 remained open as test results were pending, said WNYC. Despite this, a good majority of parents—about 75 percent—kept their children at home last Monday, noted WNYC.

If you’re concerned about exposure to PCBs in New York City schools, there is help available.

NYC’s Newtown Creek Slated for Cleanup

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:34:25 +0000

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just added New York City’s Newtown Creek to its Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of the country’s most hazardous waste sites. The designation allows EPA to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the creek to determine what remedial actions are required.

The creek, some four miles in length, divides the NY City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, and is the second active federal Superfund site there, following Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, said the New York Times. Potentially harmful contaminants such as pesticides, metals, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been detected in Newtown Creek along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Being placed on the Superfund’s NPL, is, wrote the New York Times, a designation meant for the worst contaminated locations. NY’s regional administrator, Judith Enck, announced Newton Creek’s designation yesterday, said the New York Times.

“The toxic pollution in Newtown Creek is more than a century in the making. EPA is placing Newtown Creek on the Superfund list to ensure the creek receives a thorough cleanup,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

VOCs are potentially harmful contaminants that can easily evaporate into the air. PCBs—which include upwards of 200 compounds—are a class of very toxic chemicals ubiquitously found in construction materials and electrical products produced from the 1950s and until the 1979 ban. Despite the phase-out, PCBs may be found in products and materials produced before the 1979 PCB ban, which means that PCBs turn up in the environment, wreaking havoc to aquatic and human health.

PCBs do not easily degrade and do bioaccumulate, infiltrating plants, crops, fish, and small organisms, ultimately reaching those who eat these products. Because of this, nearly every human being carries some PCB in his/her body, which can also be passed from mothers to children during pregnancy and in breast milk. PCBs can remain in our bodies for many years; the longer we live, the more these toxins build in our systems, increasing in strength over time.

Despite the ongoing pollution problems, some residents use the creek recreationally and to fish. Adverse health effects, including cancer and other life-threatening diseases and disorders, have been linked to PCB exposure. The potential health effects of these dangerous chemicals over the past five decades are stunning.

In the mid-1800s, the area adjacent to the creek was one of the city’s busiest industrial hubs, home to oil refineries, petrochemical plants, fertilizer and glue factories, sawmills, and lumber and coal yards. The creek was crowded with commercial vessels bringing in raw materials and fuel and taking out oil, chemicals, and metals; the city began dumping raw sewage in 1856. Some factories and facilities still operate along it; various adjacent contaminated sites have contributed to its contamination, rendering it badly polluted and, in the early 1990s, it was declared by NY State as not meeting water quality standards under the Clean Water Act.

The NY Times pointed out that the cleanup focuses on the creek’s water and sediment and not the nearby land contamination in Greenpoint, Brooklyn’s. Exxon Mobil and BP—BP maintains an active petroleum storage area nearby—are recovering oil from underneath their properties there in a cleanup being overseen by NY State, said the NY Times. The oil companies and NY City are among those entities likely to be identified by the agency as so-called responsible parties and which will be financially culpable in cleanup efforts, noted the NY Times.

Effects of Prenatal Exposure PCBs

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:33:42 +0000

Research has found a link between developmental disorders and cognitive deficits in children of mothers who had eaten moderate to high amounts of PCB-contaminated fish during the six years preceding the pregnancy and who continued to do so during the pregnancy. At birth, these effects include low birth weight, small head circumference, and a higher risk of early birth.

At 5 to 7 months, these infants exhibit depressive responsiveness, impaired visual recognition and poor short-term memory. By four years of age, such children exhibit reduced performance on the visual recognition-memory test (i.e., one of the best validated tests for the assessment of human cognitive function). At age 11, children exposed prenatally to PCBs are three times more likely to have low verbal IQ scores; twice as likely to lag behind at least two years in reading comprehension; and have difficulty paying attention.

According to one 1996 study, a group of children in Michigan whose mothers had been exposed to PCBs were found to have decreased birth weight and head size, lowered performance on standardized memory, psychomotor and behavioral tests, and lowered IQ. A study published three years later found that a group of women occupationally exposed to PCBs in upstate New York had shorter pregnancies and gave birth to children with lower birth weight.

In 2000, a study of the children of women who ate contaminated Lake Ontario fish found significant performance impairments on a standardized behavioral assessment test. And most recently, a 2009 Harvard study of children born near a PCB-contaminated harbor in Massachusetts found that prenatal exposure to banned persistent organic pollutants, including PCBs, may be linked to ADHD.

PCBs

PCBs are a group of manufactured organic chemicals that contain 209 individual chlorinated chemicals. These chemicals have been used widely as coolants and lubricants in transformers, capacitors, and other electrical equipment. Products that even today pose a PCB exposure risk include old fluorescent lighting fixtures and electrical appliances containing PCB capacitors.

There are a number of ways you or your unborn child could have been exposed to PCBs. These include:

Food: PCBs can be highly concentrated in fish. Predator fish at the top of the food chain, as well as bottom feeding fish, tend to contain the highest PCB levels in those waters.
Indoor Air: Older fluorescent lights found in schools, offices, and homes may still contain transformers or ballasts that contain PCBs. If the ballasts fail, PCBs can leak out and contaminate exposed surfaces and the air.
Surface Soils: A health hazard exists if a person swallows small amounts of the soil, or if the soil runs off to lakes and rivers, and the PCBs eventually accumulate in fish and other wildlife.
The Workplace: Industrial accidents have been responsible for most cases of acute PCB poisoning in humans.

Prenatal Exposure to PCBs

Could your child have been injured by prenatal exposure to PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)? Our PCB lawyers are investigating the link between prenatal exposure to these chemicals and developmental and cognitive problems in children, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). If you think your child was harmed by prenatal exposure to PCBs, you may have valuable legal rights.

PCBs were produced in the United States from 1929 until being banned in 1979. Although currently no longer produced commercially, PCBs may still be present in products and materials produced before the ban. If it is proven that your child was injured due to prenatal exposure to PCBs, your family may be entitled to compensation.

Our PCB lawyers offer a free legal consultation to families of children who may have been injured by these chemicals. To find out how we can help you, and to protect your legal rights, we urge you to contact one of our PCB lawyers today.

Legal Help for Victims of Prenatal PCB Exposure

Our PCB lawyers are aggressively investigating the association between prenatal PCB exposure and developmental and cognitive problems in children. If your child was injured by PCBs, your family may be eligible for compensation from the manufacturers who used these toxins in their products. To find out how our PCB lawyers can help you and your family, please fill out our online form or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) today.

We offer a free consultation to victims of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and their families. If your life has been devastated by this illness, please fill out our online form or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case today.

EPA and NYC PCB Pilot Program Indicates Contamination in City Schools

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:31:35 +0000

The New York City Department of Education—with the City of New York (City) and the New York City School Construction Authority (SCA)— reached an agreement earlier this year with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2 (EPA) regarding assessment and remediation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) caulk in public schools. The City initiated a pilot study to evaluate the presence of PCB caulk in public school buildings and preferred remedial alternatives.

We’ve been following the issue of PCB in City schools and wrote earlier this week that the three City schools were tested as part of the pilot: P.S. 199, on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; P.S. 178, which is on Baychester Avenue in the Bronx; and P.S. 309, in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. All three schools tested with PCB levels higher than levels deemed acceptable by the EPA.

According to pilot study documents, study goals were to measure PCBs in the air, dust, and soil at the schools and determine how to reduce exposure, looking specifically at PCB-containing caulk and if PCB caulk can result in increased PCBs levels in these areas and, if so, how to reduce those levels. Three rounds of tests were conducted at each school in some classrooms and other school areas.

Air tests included pre-remediation air tests, which indicated—in part—elevated PCBs in the schools; post-remediation air tests following completion of work while indicating a decrease, still showed some levels exceeding EPA guidance; and post-lighting fixture removal, which indicated elevated PCBs in air in spaces without PCB-containing caulk. There was also evidence of leaking PCB-containing ballasts in lighting fixtures, which are being replaced. Follow-up testing is planned, according to study documents.

PCBs—which include upwards of 200 compounds—are a class of very toxic chemicals ubiquitously found in construction materials and electrical products in many buildings from the 1950s until 1978, when they were phased out. Despite the phase-out, PCBs may be found in products and materials produced before the 1979 ban. Sadly, PCBs were an element in school construction and electrical products during this time, as well, noted NY1 previously.

This means there exists the potential that countless students could have been exposed over the long-term to this dangerous chemical. Meanwhile, PCBs have not been removed from schools such as P.S. 178 in the Bronx, which tested with levels 2,000 times the legal limit, said NY1.

PCBs do not easily degrade and do bioaccumulate infiltrating plants, crops, fish, and small organisms, ultimately reaching those who eat these products. Because of this, nearly every human being carries some PCB in his/her body, which can also be passed from mothers to children during pregnancy and in breast milk. PCBs can remain in our bodies for many years; the longer we live, the more these toxins build in our systems, increasing in strength over time.

In 2011, the EPA is scheduled to test two more City schools in Queens and Staten Island; however, preliminary results indicate that many City schools, some 1,500, contain dangerous PCB levels, noted NY1. In the meantime, at least one parent has filed a lawsuit, said the Daily News; the parent is urging the Manhattan Federal Court to mandate that the Education Department test for PCB caulk in high-risk schools and mandate that PCB-tainted materials be removed, reported the Daily News.

Of note, according to a The News investigation, although the Education Department cleaned the schools, removing contaminated soil, the contaminated caulk—although legally mandated to be removed—remains, said the Daily News.

While very costly to decontaminate New York City’s schools, adverse health effects, including cancer and other life-threatening diseases and disorders, have been linked to PCB exposure. Worse, because decontamination efforts have not been considered, students continue to be exposed, some at very high levels. The potential health effects over the past five decades are stunning.

Legal Help for Victims of PCB Exposure

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:29:24 +0000

Reliable medical research shows that high levels of PCBs can cause dangerous, life-threatening diseases, for instance, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Though banned in 1979, these toxic, cancer-causing chemicals are still present in our environment, our food, and even our bodies.

Our PCB lawyers are aggressively investigating the association between PCBs and dangerous, life-threatening diseases. You may be eligible for compensation from the manufacturers who used these toxins in their products. We are currently offering free lawsuit consultations to victims of PCB-related diseases and disorders and their families. If your life has been devastated by PCBs, please fill out our online form or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) to discuss your case today.

PCB’s and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer, B-Cell and T-cell lymphoma

admin — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 12:28:34 +0000

Have you or a loved one been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma? This devastating cancer has been associated with exposure to PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls. If you or someone you care about suffers from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, it is very likely that PCBs played a role in the development of this cancer.

Being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a nightmare, especially when you realize it might have been prevented. Reliable medical research shows that high levels of PCBs can cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Though banned in 1979, these toxic, cancer-causing chemicals are still present in our environment, our food, and even our bodies. Our non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma lawyers can help you determine if PCB exposure is the cause of your disease.

Our non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma lawyers are aggressively investigating the association between PCBs and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. You may be eligible for compensation from the manufacturers who used these toxins in their products. We are currently offering free lawsuit consultations to victims of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.