Are Your Children Being Exposed to Toxic PCBs at School?

EMSL Analytical provides polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) testing solutions to keep students and faculty safe from the dangerous associated with PCB exposure.

Cinnaminson, NJ

This week The New York Times published an article entitled, “Parents Seek More Action on PCBs in Schools”. The article discussed hundred of parents that kept their children home from a New York school for four days after tests showed that lighting ballasts were leaking PCBs onto the light fixtures and floor tiles of the school.

Aging fixtures, like the ones that caused the PCB scare, are reported to remain in 800 of the 1,200 New York City school buildings. According to the article, “There is no immediate health risk from PCBs lingering in schools, all are told, yet with one important caveat: the longer the exposure, the higher the risk. “ It goes on to report, “Anxiety about the dangers posed by PCBs began rising last summer after the city undertook a pilot testing program with the E.P.A. that revealed levels of air contamination exceeding federal health guidelines. It soared after the agency, effectively overruling the Bloomberg administration, said further tests could not wait until summer 2011 and began its own spot inspections last month.”

Production of PCBs in the United States was halted in the late 1970s, but prior to then it was used in some building materials, including caulks found in schools. These PCBs persist in old caulk that may become airborne or settle on surfaces as the material degrades or as it is being removed during renovation projects. The PCBs can then contaminate surfaces, soils and the indoor air quality (IAQ).

EMSL Analytical’s NELAC certified corporate laboratory recently doubled instrument capacity for PCB analysis. “This latest news report from The New York Times shows how a chemical banned decades ago is still causing health concerns,” reported Joe Frasca, Senior Vice President, Marketing at EMSL Analytical. “EMSL provides PCB testing services and currently offers PCB air testing by EPA Compendium Method TO-4A and TO-10A, as well as NIOSH 5503.”

To learn more about PCB testing in air, caulk, paint chips, wipes, concrete samples or other materials please visit www.EMSL.com, email info@EMSL.com or call (800) 220-3675.

About EMSL Analytical, Inc.
EMSL Analytical is a nationally recognized and locally focused provider of quality environmental and materials testing services and products to professionals and the general public. The company has an extensive list of accreditations from leading organizations as well as state and federal regulating bodies.

Contact Information

Joe Frasca

Senior Vice President, Marketing

EMSL Analytical, Inc.

Contact via E-mail