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.