Conceptual Approach to Fixing the Problem & Removing PCBs

Conceptual Approach to Fixing the Problem & Removing PCBs

From: Ross Hartman

Subject: Conceptual Approach & Budgetary Pricing

Date: January 15, 2015 at 3:01:41 PM PST

To: America Unites

Hello,

I have taken many liberties as I have do not know how many windows or linear feet of caulking requires removal. Below is an outline of a conceptual approach and budgetary costs.

Conceptual Approach:

· Measure total linear footage of caulking within school buildings

· Collect necessary samples and analyze for PCBs

· Investigate potential secondary and sink sources

· Conduct the removal of source PCBs “assumed caulking” under a Bulk Product Removal

· Conduct cleaning of rooms in accordance with previously performed techniques that proved successful.

· Conduct air testing to determine effectiveness and evaluate if more sources need removal or substrate requires management

Budgetary Pricing based on assumptions of quantities:

· Measure total linear footage of caulking within school buildings, collect necessary samples and analyze for PCBs, Investigate potential secondary and sink sources

§ $125,000

· Conduct the removal of source PCBs “assumed caulking” under a Bulk Product Removal – assumes ~20,000 linear feet of caulking

§ Between $15-$30 per linear foot - $300,000 - $600,000

· Conduct cleaning of rooms in accordance with previously performed techniques that proved successful.

§ Assumes 30 days at $5,000 per day - $150,000 (crews can be doubled up to reduce time)

· Conduct air testing to determine effectiveness and evaluate if more sources need removal or substrate requires management

§ $50,000

· Reinstallation of Caulking –

§ ~$10 per linear foot - $200,000

It is conceivable the source removal can occur for a range around $900,000 to $1,125,000. This is purely an estimate with site unseen and should not be interpreted as a cost of services. I would be happy to visit the site in the event there is interest to perform this work.

I have provided a list of projects I managed that implemented similar approaches:

  • MIT Westgate
  • Harvard Peabody Terrance
  • UMass Lederle
  • UMass Southwest Concourse
  • Lexington Estabrook School
  • Westport Middle
  • New Bedford High
  • Southeast Regional Vocational School
  • Town of Princeton – Thomas Prince School
  • City of Worcester
  • North Reading High
  • Essex North Shore Agricultural & Technical High School
  • Private Developer – 535,000 SF building removal of PCBs (full removal of PCBs in substrate to 1ppm)

Regards,

Ross Hartman

JM Environmental, Corp.

A WBE/DBE Certified Company

www.jmenvironmental.com

Press Release January 14, 2015

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Contact: Leola Webb [PEER] (202) 265-7337; Jennifer deNicola [America Unites for Kids] (310) 436-6000

Malibu Schools Spending Millions to Avoid Toxic Cleanup

Payments to Lawyers and Consultants Exceed What a Full Cleanup Would Cost

Washington, DC — Malibu public schools officials have spent millions of dollars on lawyers and consultants to avoid following Federal law and fully testing and remediating contaminated facilities, according to figures posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and America Unites for Kids (formerly Malibu Unites). The lavish spending includes $775,000 in legal fees paid or approved, although there has yet to be any litigation, and environmental consultants staying in a $9,000-per-month luxury condo.

Over the past thirteen months, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) has spent more than $3.7 million on such expenditures. Yet no polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) remediation has occurred and only four windows have been slated for removal of caulking containing PCBs by the end of next June. The district has refused to do school-wide caulk testing even though district and independent samples reveal that 17 classrooms in seven buildings throughout the tri-school campus, educating students ages 5-18, contain caulk with PCBs above levels allowed by the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Most rooms still have not had the caulk tested and of those that have, several are up to 7,000 times the legal limit.

In November 2013, SMMUSD identified illegal levels of PCBs in caulk in four classrooms on the Malibu High campus. After that, the district refused to test any more caulk or other building materials for PCBs, in order to avoid further triggering federal law requiring removal. Instead, the district has proceeded only with “avoidance testing” such as air and dust tests, which cannot trigger Federal law.

SMMUSD’s expenditures and approvals to date include:

  • More than $2.7 million on environmental consultants, primarily to monitor rather than remove pollutants;
  • $775,000 on the environmental defense law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, without any litigation pending; and
  • Tens of thousands of dollars on lodging and travel expenses including a luxury beach “villa” summer rental for $9,000 per month, as well as thousands more on hotels, meals, and travel billed by the environmental engineering firm Environ, even though Environ was hired in part because it is locally based.

“All of this money could and should have been spent in the classroom to create a safer environment for teachers and students,” commented PEER Senior Counsel Paula Dinerstein. “These records suggest that more than the school buildings need a good cleaning.”

For more than a year now, teachers and students at Malibu Middle and High Schools and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School have raised serious health complaints, including thyroid cancer, which they believe may be linked to contaminated facilities. PEER and America Unites for Kids have been calling for testing of the caulking, removing all materials contaminated with PCBs above legal limits, and moving students and teachers out of dangerous classrooms and into PCB-free portable units in the interim.

“The district’s spending is fiscally irresponsible and their testing is a sham,” said Jennifer deNicola, President of America Unites for Kids. “They recently hired cleaners to remove dust in classrooms hours before the dust and air were tested for PCBs. These fixed results were an attempt to give parents a false sense of security and to distract them from what really needs to occur at all schools in the district—testing of all the caulk and removal of all PCBs above legal limits. Full PCB remediation could have been completed by now for far less than the district has spent on consultants and lawyers.”

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Look at district expenditures

http://www.peer.org/assets/docs/ca/1_14_14_Purchase_Orders_Approved.pdf

View $9,000/month condo bill

http://www.peer.org/assets/docs/ca/1_14_15_Villa_Invoice.jpg

Examine one of many expensive hotel bills

http://www.peer.org/assets/docs/ca/1_14_15_Hotel_bill.jpg

See high levels of PCB contamination in classrooms district is avoiding

http://www.peer.org/news/news-releases/2014/10/17/new-malibu-tests-show-alarming-classroom-contamination/

Learn about the health dangers of PCBs, especially for young children

http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/effects.htm

Trace the unfolding toxic history at Malibu schools

http://www.peer.org/campaigns/public-health/toxic-schools/

District Performs a Secret Cleaning Before PCB Dust and Air Testing, Rendering Any Test Results Meaningless

District Performs a Secret Cleaning Before PCB Dust and Air Testing, Rendering Any Test Results Meaningless

(A response to the District’s Press Release dated Dec 19th, 2014)

December, 26th, 2014

The PCB Christmas Break testing is a PR move by the district intended to reassure parents by first manipulating the cleanliness of the classrooms and then reporting that they are below EPA guidelines.

On Tuesday, December 16th, 2014, the district ordered a “special” cleaning of the classrooms prior to Environ testing the dust and air. They asked teachers to remove all items from all surfaces so they can send a “special” crew to remove dust from surfaces; the same surfaces that Environ will be wipe testing hours later. This renders PCB results meaningless. The goal of wipe and air testing is to see what the students and staff have been exposed to for the past 4 months. However, if they clean it hours before testing then any evidence of PCB exposure is removed.

This was done to guarantee the results are below EPA guidelines. Sadly, these test results will be nothing more than a PR move by the district to reassure parents and waste taxpayer dollars.

Last summer, Environ proposed a pilot study to evaluate the effectiveness of PCB Best Management Practices cleaning. If the district is interested in knowing what students and staff are being exposed to through-out the year, why not investigate and perform unannounced, random wipe and air tests, rather than secretly clean all the dust before testing?

 

EPA States Caulk Tested by Independent Parties Must Be Removed

Steve Armann, EPA manager Region 9 states the district must remove all PCBs greater than 50 ppm in compliance with TSCA and “this includes caulk tested by independent parties.” (Click Here to Read)

The Oct 31st approval by the EPA was very clear: “EPA’s included approval address (ONLY) the PCBs remaining in the substrate (known as PCB remediation waste) after PCB-containing caulk is removed at both schools.” Meaning PCB sources must be removed and the sources that have contaminated other material (called PCB remediation waste) can be left in place until renovation occurs and levels in air and dust remain below guidelines. (Click Here to Read)

 

Rooms so far tested over 50ppm

MHS: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 205, 401, 505, 506, 704, Old Gym Office, library

JC: office, 18, 19, 22, 23

 

PCBs Affect a Whole Building, Not Just a Single Window

If PCB-laden caulking over 50ppm has been found in one classroom, then it is probable that PCB-laden caulk is in all classrooms in that building. It would be absurd to propose removal of only the tested window (which is what the district has proposed) when adjacent windows used the same caulking that contain high levels of PCBs.

Buildings that have already shown caulking exceeding 50ppm:

MHS A, B, C, D, G, I, F, Old Gym and JC buildings A C, F.

Up to now, there has been no source testing done in:

MHS building H, or JC: B, D, E.

 

BMP Cleaning is to Reduce Exposure: It is NOT Remediation

PCB over 50ppm must be removed. BMP and hand washing frequently is not a long-term solution to PCBs. It has been over one year and the district should have done a full evaluation of the extent of PCBs caulking. This is a $65 test per window/door. The air and dust testing is much, much more expensive.

The district stated that their results from June 2014 sampling program indicate that a frequency of one annual BMP cleaning is more than sufficient to reduce PCBs levels in dust and air. (The EPA has not validated this statement.) This statement made by the district poses two questions:

  1. If this is true, then why would the district be doing a secret “special” cleaning hours before dust and air tests?
  2. How can the district make this determination when they have only performed one yearly cleaning (summer 2014) and have no data validating how long the cleaning lasts?

 

EPA and TSCA are very clear, PCBs must be removed, not managed in place.

The district states that tests have consistently reported PCB levels that were non-detectable or below EPA health standards. This is just not accurate. Environ set their detection limit to 75ng, so when Environ says PCBS are non-detect, it does not mean there are no PCBs, just that they are under 75ng, still a significant amount.

 

Environ did not follow EPA Recommendation When Air Testing was Over Limit

The EPA states in their Aug 14th, 2014 letter to Sandra Lyon, that air testing is to be used to determine if there are PCBs present and then source testing is recommended to identify and remove PCBs in compliance with TSCA. Instead when tests came back over EPA guidelines, Environ re-cleaned classrooms multiple times (up to 3 additional times) until air tests were low and then deemed these rooms safe for occupancy. If 4 tests are taken and 3 don’t pass, wouldn’t that be an indication that there is a PCB source problem in that room that needs to be addressed?

 

The District is Spending an Outrageous Amount of Money to Distract Us

Everyone knows there are PCBs over 50ppm in the caulking. The levels have come back at some of the highest in the nation and the EPA has ordered the removal of PCBs including those from independent tests. The district is spending an outrageous amount of money to distract the public rather than face this head on, test and remove PCBs in compliance with Federal law. In the end, they will have to comply; the law is the law.

So the 2 million dollar question is, why spend over 2 million dollars with Environ doing “distraction” testing and Pillsbury Law firm rather than spend it to remove PCBs from our children’s schools? Especially when the costs to remove PCB-laced caulking is estimated to be approximately $500,000.

*******

America Unites for Kids (Malibu Unites) are a 501c(3) non-profit working to ensure all children and those that educate them are not exposed to hazardous toxins that can harm their health. Thank you for your continued support to protect all children in all schools and strive for Environmental Health Excellence.

EPA reveals details of PCB test results at Walmart Warehouse

13 Investigates first broke the story about toxic chemicals at a Walmart returns center in August.

Hundreds of workers were forced to evacuate the facility after initial tests showed the warehouse on North Franklin Road was contaminated with PCBs, chemicals that are linked to cancer.

The company that operates the center, Exel Logistics, offered all employees health testing, and we’re still waiting for those results.
The other big question: what was found in the plant? Federal investigators have released reports that include details and information about where the PCBs came from and exactly where investigators found them inside the warehouse.

The EPA released hundreds of pages of test results late Wednesday afternoon. The documents show where investigators found dangerous chemicals and the source of the contamination. The results come from testing that took place inside Walmart’s Indianapolis Returns Center in early September.

See all stories related to the investigation.

Wednesday afternoon, the EPA released a series of maps showing where PCBs were found in the highest concentrations, like in a battery charging area. It’s worth pointing out that tests throughout the warehouse show PCBs at levels that exceed government standards.

The highest concentrations were detected in caulk and paint on the floor and in some insulation material, and investigators concluded those are the primary sources of PCB contamination.

All the full-time workers at the Walmart warehouse have been on paid leave since they were evacuated nearly two months ago. 13 Investigates has learned the employees will all be moved to a different facility so operations can resume. In the meantime, those workers are waiting on personal test results to see what impact, if any, the contamination might have on their health.

See a map here (fig.1) and here (fig. 2) that shows where PCB levels were highest, as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.wthr.com/story/26797072/2014/10/15/13-investigates-epa-reveals-details-of-pcb-test-results-at-walmart-warehouse

Press Release 10-16-14

Dear District Attorney Jackie Lacy, Sharon Matsumoto, Mr. Joesph Esposito and Mr. Scott Goodwin:

Currently, your office has two sets of independent results for Malibu High that show levels of PCBs over 300,000ppm. As you know, federal law regulates removal of PCBs at 50ppm. Today I am sending you more details regarding these results.

The first set of tests was done by EPA method 8082, which only measures the Aroclor totals. Method 1668c tells us about the 209 individual PCB congeners and is the one scientists and researchers prefer to understand the potential and serious health risks associated with different PCBs congeners. Some congeners are dioxin-like and are orders of magnitude more toxic than total PCBs. These congeners have been linked to different forms of cancer and non-cancer disease. Other congeners are neurotoxic and have been linked to lower IQ, ADHD, autism, and headaches/migraines.

Congener 126 is the most toxic of all PCBs. An EPA certified lab re-ran the independent samples that had revealed levels of PCBs at 370,000ppm and 340,000ppm using EPA method 1668c. This second test showed that those caulk samples contain congener 126 at levels (122ppm and 57ppm) that far exceed the EPA’s regional screen level (RSL) for health and safety.

These are outrageous concentrations of PCBs, and I’ve never heard of such high concentrations of PCB 126, which is the most toxic of the dioxin-like congeners. They must be immediately removed.
-David O. Carpenter, M.D.Director, Institute for Health and the Environment University at Albany

RSLs are health-based standards, used by the EPA, which indicate a potential unreasonable health risk from toxic chemicals. RSLs, when exceeded, require action. Based on the RSL for PCBs, congener 126 at 122ppm, it is more than 3 million times more toxic than the EPA allows (3.7E -05 or .000037ppm). This number constitutes a serious health risk and warrants direct and immediate action.

As you are well aware, risk of health effects is dependent on exposure and toxicity. There is a significant potential for exposure to PCBs in caulk. When contaminated caulk is disturbed, or deteriorates with age, it produces dust that may contain PCBs. This dust can be inhaled, touched or ingested through normal hand-to-mouth contact. Based on the fact that PCBs have been detected in the air, dust and soil that are the same congener makeup, it is likely that caulk has peeled off and contaminated the surrounding soil, rendering the soil as hazardous to school occupants.
PCBs have also likely been released to air from intact, undisturbed caulk through off gassing and from dust production.
With regards to the toxicity of PBC 126, the scientific literature demonstrates that it is extremely toxic - causing alterations in hormone production, disruptions in cellular processes, and altered gene expression.
Given the nature of the toxicological mechanisms leading to health effects, complete pathways of exposure, and presence of PCB 126 at high levels in the caulk, I believe that the high concentrations of PCBs in the caulk would present an unreasonable risk to children, teachers, and pregnant women at the school.
-Jill Powder, Ph.D., Toxicologist at Environmental Health Decisions

One can assume that other rooms at Malibu High and Juan Cabrillo Elementary that have tested high for PCBs will contain high levels of congener 126. Therefore, action must be taken not just in the two classrooms confirmed, but in all buildings where PCBs are found. We have asked for over eight months for students and teachers must be moved into portable units while complete source testing is conducted to determine the nature and extent of the PCB contamination and a plan can be created to remove all PCBs that violate federal law. It’s $65 to test the caulking. $110 million has been set-aside for Malibu from bond money already earmarked for health and safety. There is no reason for hesitation on enacting precautionary principles and providing PCB-free learning environments for our students and staff.

We have previously asked that the DA send a public nuisance letter to SMMUSD. We now have unquestionable proof that a serious health hazard exists on campus that students and staff are being exposed to each day. As reported last week, Ocean View District in Huntington Beach closed three schools immediately when a fiber of asbestos was found. Yet PCBs that are banned by Congress and have the weight of federal law behind them are being minimized by our district. We have learned that being the first on the West Coast to report PCBs in schools puts us at the huge disadvantage of having to pave new paths. Yet government agencies, including your own, cannot ignore federal law which is very clear that PCBs are a human health hazard and must be removed:

The Administrator hereby finds, under the authority of section 12(a)(2) of TSCA, that the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of PCBs at concentrations of 50 ppm or greater and PCB Items with PCB concentrations of 50 ppm or greater present an unreasonable risk of injury to health within the United States. This finding is based upon the well-documented human health and environmental hazard of PCB exposure, the high probability of human and environmental exposure to PCBs and PCB Items from manufacturing, processing, or distribution activities; the potential hazard of PCB exposure posed by the transportation of PCBs or PCB Items within the United States; and the evidence that contamination of the environment by PCBs is spread far beyond the areas where they are used. In addition, the Administrator hereby finds, for purposes of section 6(e)(2)(C) of TSCA, that any exposure of human beings or the environment to PCBs, as measured or detected by any scientifically acceptable analytical method, may be significant, depending on such factors as the quantity of PCBs involved in the exposure, the likelihood of exposure to humans and the environment, and the effect of exposure.

Press Release 9-22-14

DISTRICT ATTORNEY CALLED ON NEW PCB FINDINGS IN MALIBU SCHOOLS
School District Threatens Fearful Children with Truancy, Teachers with Termination

For Immediate Release: Monday, September 22, 2014
Contact: Kirsten Stade [PEER] (202) 265-7337; Jennifer deNicola [Malibu Unites] 310-436-6000

New independent PCB test results revealing even more classrooms with toxic contamination thousands of times greater than permitted under federal law were turned over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office today. The District Attorney’s Office has the jurisdiction to seek enforcement of the law, particularly violations of several California state statutes, including Maintaining a Public Nuisance, in violation of California Penal Code Section 372; Child Endangerment in violation of Penal Code Section 273a; and Failing to Disclose a Serious Concealed Danger in violation of Penal Code Section 387.

“We are frustrated that politics and fear of liability have prevented both our school district and the EPA from protecting our children and teachers from exposure to cancer-causing PCBs,” said Jennifer deNicola, President of Malibu Unites, a 501(c)(3) made up of parents, scientists and citizens for safe schools. “We have turned to the Los Angeles District Attorney to seek enforcement of the law.”

For months, Malibu Middle and High Schools and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School have been roiled by discovery of illegal levels of contaminants, including extremely high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in window and door caulk, ventilator dust and soil. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District claims that all buildings are safe to occupy and yet some rooms have been closed off; meanwhile tests continue to come in showing that classrooms currently occupied by students and teachers have PCBs that exceed safe limits set by federal law. The district continues to refuse to do additional source testing despite requests by parents, teachers and most recently by the Malibu Mayor and City Council. It has also rejected an offer by Malibu parent and supermodel Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber to personally pay for source testing.

In July, samples taken from several Malibu school facilities showed illegal PCB levels dramatically higher than previously reported – as much as 7400 times higher than legal limits and the highest known results for a classroom in the U.S. In September, new samples from five classrooms and a caulk sample from an unannounced removal operation showed four classrooms testing above the federal Toxic Substance Control Act limit of 50 parts per million (ppm). One classroom sample tested at 231,000 ppm (more than a quarter of the caulk consisted of PCBs) while another contained 146,000 ppm.

“These EPA lab-certified tests results are alarming and require immediate action since children are sitting in classrooms every day that vastly exceed the legal health standard,” added Kurt Fehling, a health scientist working with Malibu Unites. “Concentrations that high in the caulk leave no doubt that significant exposure may be occurring.” The Mayor of Malibu, Skylar Peak, also warned the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board “Your school board’s data as well as other independent data, done at credible testing facilities indicates that at least nine buildings [at Malibu High School] exceed the legal allowable standard for PCBs. It’s unsafe.”

Cindy Crawford and numerous other parents have decided to remove their children from Malibu High and home school their children or pursue independent study options. At the same time, the District is threatening truancy proceedings against children whose parents have requested that their children not attend classes in contaminated classrooms which have high levels of PCBs. Teachers resisting assignment to classrooms with PCBs above federal law have also been threatened with termination.

“For the District and EPA to say certain rooms are unsafe but others constructed at the same time from the same materials are just fine makes absolutely no sense,” stated PEER Senior Council Paula Dinerstein who last month filed a notice of intent to sue both the District and the EPA for violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act on behalf of both Malibu teachers and parents. “Air and dust testing have no legal basis and offer no assurance that students and teachers will not be directly exposed to hazardous material. The law requires that these contaminants be removed.”

See latest test results (full lab report available on request)

Examine Toxic Substance Control Act notice to sue

Luck at July sample with off-the-chart PCB levels

View District Threat to fire teachers balking at contaminated classrooms

Read Malibu City Council resolution urging action on school contamination

Parents continue to push for caulk testing at Malibu schools

Malibu parents pleaded with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District on Thursday to test the source of toxic substances found at Malibu High School.

Thursday’s board meeting was the latest in months of protests by parents – including supermodel Cindy Crawford and “Scandal” actor Josh Malina – asking the district to test window caulking in older buildings. Polychlorinated biphenyls were found in the caulking of four buildings, and elevated levels of PCBs were found in the air and dust of five others.

PCBs – found in structures built from the 1950s until they were banned by the federal government in 1979 – can cause cancer and damage the reproductive, endocrine and nervous systems, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. An investigation began after teachers sent a letter to the school district, concerned that many of their co-workers had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.

Earlier this month, the Malibu City Council – which has no control over the schools – drafted a resolution asking the district to remove the caulk.

Malibu Mayor Skylar Peak kicked off about two hours of public comments at Thursday’s meeting, saying the district has “fallen short in its efforts” to address concerns – not just of parents, but also of staff. The City Council called on the school district to test the caulk in the classrooms, he said.

The district has said repeatedly that its classrooms are safe. The EPA has said that if PCB levels in the air or dust are below a certain threshold, it’s not necessary to test the caulk. If PCBs are found above that level, schools are instructed to continually clean the rooms where they are found until the measurements are at a passable mark.

Parents question whether air and dust samplings – which can vary because of environmental changes – are a fair-risk assessment.

But the source of contention for many is that previous testing determined that some of the caulk should be removed. Last year, the district randomly tested about 10 classrooms, and four showed PCBs above the legal limit, which meant the caulk had to be removed. The district then began consulting with the EPA, which told Santa Monica-Malibu Unified it did not need to test the caulk.

“It’s not the presence that’s the problem; it’s the exposure,” district spokeswoman Valerie Martinez said earlier this week. “As long as they’re coming up below those standards … then the buildings are safe, and that’s exactly what we’re talking about here.”

Crawford has offered to pay for testing the caulk. Law firm Baron and Budd, which currently represents a school in Massachusetts in a lawsuit against PCB-maker Monsanto, is offering free testing to all U.S. public schools. The district hasn’t accepted either of these offers.

PEER, a public employee advocacy group, recently added fuel to the fire when it revealed the group had taken caulk samples from the high school and had them tested. The group said results showed that one classroom could be the most PCB-contaminated room in the U.S.

The district said PEER gathered its samples surreptitiously and it hasn’t replicated the testing, while the EPA says it is reviewing PEER’s results.

Parent group Malibu Unites and PEER plan to file a lawsuit against the district in 30 days.

“I don’t know why you guys are worried about protecting your own liability. … Stop it. Protect our kids,” Jennifer deNicola of Malibu Unites told the school board. “That is your job.”

Board President Maria Leon-Vazquez requested that Environ – which is contracted to carry out environmental work at the high school – organize a community meeting in Malibu.

When asked earlier this week what the district had to lose by testing the caulk – if only for parents’ peace of mind – Santa Monica-Malibu Unified said it’s just following the EPA’s lead.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Original article published by Los Angeles Register.

IS MHS AND JC REALLY SAFE FOR OUR CHILDREN; TEST THE CAULK AND FIND OUT

We all want to know the truth. Has the district used the proper tests to evaluate the school? Will our children get sick today or in the future from the PCBs found at MHS and JC. In the past week, the district’s newly hired PR firm has sent out messages regarding the re-opening of buildings at MHS. Air and wipe testing being performed by the district will not determine future exposure or be protective of student and teacher’s health. While cleaning of the buildings is fantastic, it does not remove the PCBs. The Federal Violations still remain. Congress has clearly stated in the Toxic Substance Control Act regulation that, “PCB concentrations of 50 ppm or greater present an unreasonable risk of injury to health.” MHS/JC have 6 different buildings with levels over 50ppm. TESTING COMPARED: IT’S APPLES and ORANGES: The district is surface wipe testing and air testing only. The independent test results released by Malibu Unites/PEER showed 370,000ppm in the caulking, which caulking is the source of PCBs. PCBs in caulk are regulated under Federal Law, but air testing and surface wipe testing are not. Surface wipe (wipe) tests involve measuring a small area (100x100cm) as a representative sample of a much larger surface (classroom). This wipe test will provide information about that small area in that moment of time it was taken. The wipe sample will show PCBs that have been released from a source (e.g. caulk). PCBs come out of the caulk and into the dust, which is why wipe samples are lower than caulk samples. Air testing reveals the PCBs in the air at that moment of time the test is administered. Studies have showed that classrooms tested multiple times reveal significantly different results based on a number of factors, like temperature, ventilation, testing methods, etc. It costs $100 to test the caulk. PCBs were not applied evenly in caulk around the window frames, as they were mixed in at the job site. The only way to determine whether there are PCBs in or around a window frame is to remove several pieces of the PCB source material (in this case the window caulk) and test that material. Environ has not performed this type of testing. The data that has been released by the district and the data that has been released by Malibu Unites/PEER is like comparing apples to oranges. The apples (wipe and air testing) cannot tell the whole story. The oranges (caulk testing) will reveal the nature and extent the PCB contamination is throughout the campus; which is why the caulk must be tested in each pre-1979 classroom.

If the EPA and the district is so confident that the school is ‘safe’ then test the caulk and prove it.

Sad State of Affairs When Those Tasked to Protect Your Children, Can Only See To Protect Themselves

Dear Parents of Malibu High, Middle and Juan Cabrillo,

By now, many of you are aware of the struggle for our children’s safety in Malibu, between the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the parents who are advocating for transparent, comprehensive testing of our schools. The press release (click here) that went out yesterday revealed independent test results of PCB sources that were acquired from several classrooms on the Malibu High and Juan Cabrillo campuses. These results indicated that the levels of PCBs in caulking at all three of our schools are some of the highest found in the nation. Nine months ago, Sandra Lyon promised to test Juan Cabrillo, yet that was not done. Without the independent test results released this week, MHS and Juan Cabrillo parents would never know the extent of contamination at the schools.

To put this in perspective (highest interior levels of caulk reported):

  • Juan Cabrillo Room 19: 340,000ppm
  • MHS room 506: 370,000ppm
  • previous (Nov 2013) MHS Library: 1850ppm
  • Lexington, CT: approx. 37,000ppm;
  • P.S.199 Manhattan, NY: wall panel corridor 217,000ppm
  • Brooklyn, NY corridor display case: 440,000ppm

(Click Here to See NYC P.S.199 Pilot Study for PCB)

We fully expected the district to try to discredit both these test results and Malibu Unites and PEER’s efforts on behalf of parents and teachers. We expected it to contain the usual messaging from the district, assuring parents that the classrooms are safe and the district is “doing everything it can” and that they are following EPA guidelines to ensure the health and safety of children and teachers. They have tried to depict us as aggressive activists. This is just not true. We are parents, just like you, and there are over 100 of us working on this issue. We love our community, our friends and our teachers and we are working hard to keep all of our children together in Malibu in a healthy, clean and safe learning environment.

The districts July 3rd PCB plan submitted to the EPA that Malibu Unites and PEER are concerned about proposes to leave all PCBs in place for 15 years. This is egregious and we all need to send letters to the EPA and the district stating that the parents of students will not accept our children being exposed to PCBs, especially PCBs that violate federal law, for 15 years.

Email: [email protected] and [email protected] (please cc: [email protected])

We have tried for months to cooperatively work with SMMUSD. They will not do proper testing of PCB sources. Yet when it comes time to demo or remodel a building they are required by law to test for PCB sources to ensure they are properly disposed of, so why not do it now and protect the health of students and faculty?

The way the district currently tests for PCBs is by air and wipe samples, not caulk samples; which is why the district has not identified the high results the independent study revealed. Air and wipe tests will never trigger the federal law of 50ppm (TSCA) because federal law does not have a regulation for air or wipe tests. Most importantly, an air or wipe test only shows us what is happening at the moment the test is taken, not a week or a month or a year from now. PCB sources will continue to emit PCBs into the environment exposing our children and their teachers. It is just how PCBs work. We have to know the source to control the source, which is why testing the caulk is so important.

Malibu Unites is not dismissing the authority and scientific experts of government agencies as Sandra Lyon stated in her most recent letter to the community. In fact, Malibu Unites President, Jennifer deNicola, was the first person to contact the EPA Region 9 and solicit their assistance, three weeks before Lyon was willing to reach out to them. It was only after Lyon learned that MHS violated federal law, that she was willing to call the EPA. The EPA has stated very clearly that the district (Environ) is directing the testing plans for the schools and the EPA will either approve or disapprove their plans. In many situations the district has not followed EPA guidance (see examples at bottom) which is why Malibu Unites and PEER’s oversight is essential.

The district has spent about a million dollars on Lawyers rather than $100 per caulk test on approx. 150 classrooms and offices throughout the 3 campuses (including bathrooms and storage rooms). If four tests were done in each room it would only cost $60,000. Then we would know where the sources of PCBs are and we could discuss the best way to remediate, remove or rebuild. Until this source testing is done, we cannot ever be assured our children are not being unnecessarily exposed to toxic PCBs. Testing the caulking could trigger further TSCA violations and we believe that is the reason the district is avoiding caulk testing.

Please click here to see a compiled list health issues related to PCB.


The independent test results were analyzed at an EPA-approved laboratory using EPA testing method 8082a and went through third-party independent quality control, quality analysis (QAQC) process. This testing and QAQC takes time, but it validates the testing results by multiple independent parties. Malibu Unites and PEER stand behind them. If anyone questions these results, the easy thing to do is test the same caulking in the same room and send it to an EPA approved lab to verify the results. But disputing results, as a PR move, is irresponsible to the health of our children, our teachers and our community. It is disappointing that the district would publicly criticize this information rather than view it as an opportunity to re-evaluate their testing plan and be more protective of the health and safety of our children and teachers.

Sadly, SMMUSD Board of Education and Superintendent have done very little to test and remediate toxins on our tri-school campus since October 2013, when news of the contamination on campus reached parents and teachers. PCBs in the soil were discovered in 2009— the district has known for four years that they had a PCB contamination issue and failed to warn the parents and teachers; the district failed to find the sources of contamination and rid the schools of PCBs. Federal Law bans PCBs from use, which includes caulk. The district and board members should have tested for sources of the PCBs and the eight other chemicals found in the soil at the time they found them, instead of removing the contaminated soil, and acting as if the toxicants were never there. The district’s current plan—to manage PCBs in place for 15 years and do no further testing and no mitigation—is again avoiding solving the problem. The district has inferred that because many other schools in the country may have a PCB problem that having one is not a big deal. This issue maybe widespread but it is not a reason to leave illegal and unhealthy PCBs in schools exposing children to unnecessary toxicants; and surely not a reason to leave them at our schools.

Please remember as you read the letter from the district that our school district’s ongoing and proven agenda is to put its own liability and finances before the health and safety of students, and ahead of a parent’s right to know about toxins at their child’s school. It is Malibu Unites’ position that all parents have the right to know what their children are being exposed to at school, so that each family can make the decision that is right for them.

Please know that we will continue to fight for your right to have full information about any contamination on campus so you can make an educated choice about your child’s school environment and the amount of risk your family is willing to assume. Some parents will think the risk is small; others will decide it is too high for their comfort. Both decisions are completely valid. But YOU deserve the right to make an educated choice for yourselves, not to have SMMUSD make it for you.


Respectfully Yours,
The Malibu Unites Team
www.MalibuUnites.com
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4 Examples of the District Not Following EPA Guidance:

A: EPA stated that all PCBs over 50ppm must be removed, but the district instead has proposed leaving them in place of 15 years.

B: EPA sent a letter to Lyon on Jan 27th, 2014 clearly states:
1. Removal of all caulk with known concentrations above 50 ppm PCBs in the library and in Blue Building Rooms 1, 5, and 8. Even though air concentrations are below our health based guidelines, the cleanup plan should include post caulk removal air sampling as well as wipe sampling around the areas where caulk was removed.
2. Mitigation or removal of any caulk that is deteriorating in pre-1979 structures at Malibu High School/Middle School. After mitigation or removal of any caulk, the windowsills and adjacent areas should be thoroughly cleaned.
However, the district has submitted two plans to the EPA that do not have even these minimum requirements included in their plan. The districts current plan proposes to leave all PCBs, including those in violation of 50ppm in place for 15 YEARS! No mitigation or removal. This is clearly not following EPA protocol or their direction.

C: EPA told the district in writing on Dec. 20th, to air test with the windows closed, yet the very next day, the district air tested with the windows open.

D: On Dec 19th, 2013, Lyon sent out an email to parents claiming that EPA approved cleaning and testing plan before EPA ever received the plan to review. EPA received the plan on Dec 20th, at 8:58am. EPA issued response at 1:14pm stating windows must be closed.

Nonprofit discusses cleanup at MHS

Ashleigh Fryer, Senior Editor
6:18 pm PDT May 9, 2014

 

Malibu Unites, a Malibu based nonprofit focusing on the heath of Malibu’s public schools, hosted a town hall meeting at Duke’s Malibu on Thursday, May 1, to discuss the ongoing situation regarding PCBs at Malibu High School.

The meeting introduced a board of experts who each shared their experiences dealing with PCBs, pesticides and toxicants, and were available to address questions from the crowd of a few dozen.

Experts included Penny Newman, executive director for the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Christina Georgio, staff attorney for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Nauchman Brautbar, an MD certified in internal medicine, nephrology and forensic medicine with a specialization in medical toxicology and Kurt Fehling, the Malibu Unites independent expert team leader.

“Having your own experts is critical,” Newman said. “It keeps people honest.”

Newman was the PTA president of Stringfellow Elementary School when she and other teachers, staff and parents at the school found out about the ongoing contamination of the school and surrounding neighborhood from the nearby Stringfellow acid pits. Through her work, she eventually got Stringfellow listed as one of California’s top priority superfund sites for cleanup.

“When I found out about the decisions that were being made about my children without my input, I was furious,” she said. “We not only have the right to know, we have the responsibility to know.”

Newman applauded Jennifer DeNicola, president and founder of Malibu Unites, and the rest of the organization’s team and supporters, in their efforts to involve themselves in the process of discovery and cleanup of PCBs and toxicants recently found on the Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School campuses. The group hopes to work with the EPA, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the District’s environmental consulting firm for the cleanup project, Environ, to make the process transparent, according to DeNicola.

“At times you have to challenge [the DTSC], but when they’re doing the right thing you have to applaud them,” Newman said.

Georgio, who has spent most of her career working to correct the problem of pollutants in New York City public schools, said methods that would never be considered in New York, due to the sheer size of the District, can more easily be implemented in a community like Malibu.

“I’m the monitor with regard to what New York City is doing to remediate their schools,” Georgio said. “New York is still figuring it out — it does not know what it’s doing. It seems to me that starting over should be a considered option [in Malibu].”

Fehling spoke about his experiences conducting human health risk assessments for occupational and residential populations exposed to contaminants, citing Environ’s plan for remediation at the MHS campus, “wholly inadequate.”

“We need to prompt them to look at a more holistic approach [to cleanup],” Fehling said.

For more information on Malibu Unites, or to donate to the nonprofit, visit www.malibuunites.com.