EPA To Bloomberg: Ten Years Is Too Long To Rid Schools Of PCBs

Hey, what's a little cancer between friends?

New York City’s 10-year plan to identify and replace school-building light fixtures that are leaking toxic chemicals should be handled in a speedier and more comprehensive fashion, the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday.

Federal officials initially praised the city for taking a step in the right direction when it announced its plan last month as part of a wider energy efficiency effort. But the E.P.A. is rejecting the city’s timeline of 10 years and pushing for a shorter time frame, although how much shorter is still a subject of discussions with the city, said Judith Enck, the agency’s regional administrator in New York.

“Ten years is too long,” Ms. Enck said in an interview Friday. “From our inspections, we’ve found that there’s a problem with leaking light ballasts, and I’d be concerned with the problem lingering for a long period of time.”

The issue of replacing old fluorescent light fixtures has become a pressing one for the city since a pilot study that began last year identified leaking lighting ballasts as a major source of high levels of the toxic chemical compounds known as PCBs in air samples taken from schools. Subsequent spot inspections of schools by the E.P.A. this year found that the problem appeared to be pervasive in the school system. The city could face civil penalties if it does not properly address the PCB contamination.

Under pressure from both federal officials and worried parents, city officials announced in February that they would allocate $702 million to replace light fixtures in nearly 800 school buildings as part of a broader effort that would involve other energy efficiency upgrades. But the plan immediately drew criticism from school advocates who said that eliminating the PCB contamination was too urgent to wait a decade to complete.

On Friday, most members of the City Council added their voices to the criticism, calling a news conference and sending a letter to Ms. Enck asking her to insist that the lights be replaced within two years. The letter was signed by 41 of the 51 council members.

“This is something that has brought the Council together,” said Julissa Ferreras, a councilwoman from Corona, Queens. “This is a health hazard.”

Indeed, it is a health hazard.

But Bloomberg and Black don't give a shit about that.

They don't give a shit about children getting cancer.

They don't give a shit about teachers and staff getting cancer.

They don't give a shit if people die as a consequence of their refusal to remove the PCBs in a timely manner.

They just don't give a shit.

They DO care about saving money, and so what if some people get cancer or DIE as a result of their negligence.

After all, as my friend NYC Educator likes to say, the only thing that REALLY matters in this world is making sure that Steve Forbes pays less taxes every year.

Leaving PCBs in the schools for ten years certainly does help keep the Forbes tax bill low.