News Release from the Office of Assemblymember Linda B.

Rosenthal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 3, 2012 CONTACT: Nicholas E. Smith: 212.873.6368, smithn@assembly.state.ny.us

ASSEMBLYMEMBER ROSENTHAL DEMANDS THAT NEW YORK CITY REMOVE TOXIC PCBs FROM NEW YORK CITY SCHOOL BUILDINGS IMMEDIATELY
APPLAUDS CITY COUNCIL FOR PASSING LOCAL LAWS 68/2011 AND 69/2011 REQUIRING PARENTAL AND COUNCIL NOTIFICATION New York, NY While applauding the New York City Councils passage of two bills last week, Local Law 68/2011 and Local Law 69/2011, which would require the New York City Department of Education (DOE) to provide parents, students and employees of schools that have been tested for polychlorinated bipheynls (PCBs) with the results of that testing and to provide the New York City Council with annual reports regarding the progress of the Citys PCB lighting removal plan, respectively, Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (Manhattan, D/WF), is calling on the City to speed up its ten-year timeline to remove PCBs from lighting ballasts and fixtures in New York City public school buildings. While the Council has made some progress by passing these bills empowering parents and students with information, the City must do more to protect students, teachers and staff from the dangers of PCBs, said Assemblymember Rosenthal. These bills do not change the fundamental problem of an untenably long timeline. Regardless of any notification requirements, the fact is that under the Citys existing plan, PCBs will remain in many schools for as long as ten years. That is the timeframe that the City adopted to get rid of these toxic PCBs and frankly, the City can and must do better. PCBs are a suspected human carcinogen and have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory testing on animals. In addition, they are a known neurotoxin and have been linked to cognitive disorders in children, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. PCBs have also been shown to have negative impacts on the endocrine system and pose serious risks to womens reproductive systems, particularly in women who are pregnant or of child-bearing age. The City must take the threat of PCBs seriously, remediate these schools immediately and release the list of schools that are suspected to be contaminated with PCBs. Additionally, the City must release the order in which it plans to remediate these schools, said Assemblymember Rosenthal. Assemblymember Rosenthal is the sponsor of legislation, A.5374A/S.1944, that requires the City to remove and replace 50% of lighting ballasts in New York City public school buildings within two years and all lighting ballasts within three years. Following the removal and replacement of all lighting ballasts, the City would be required to test the school buildings for PCBs to ensure that the remediation was successful in reducing or eliminating the presence of PCBs. Assemblymember Rosenthal will also be introducing legislation requiring that the City reveal the order by which it intends to remediate schools that have tested positive for PCBs. Currently, nearly 800 City school buildings are suspected to have PCB-contaminated lighting ballasts and fixtures. To date, the City has refused to release a list prioritizing the schools in the order which they will be remediated. Parents, teachers, administrators and staff have a right to know when their school will be remediated, and the City has a responsibility to provide them with this information. My legislation will require the City to release
DISTRICT OFFICE - 230 West 72nd Street, Suite 2F, New York, NY 10023 - TEL (212) 873-6368 - FAX (212) 873-6520 ALBANY OFFICE - 741 Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY 12248 - TEL (518) 455-5802 - FAX (518) 455-5015

to the public the order in which it will remove PCB-contaminated lighting ballasts and fixtures over the course of the years. The City says it has a plan, I say lets see it, said Rosenthal.
Assemblymember Rosenthal represents the 67th Assembly district, which includes the Upper West Side and parts of Clinton/Hells Kitchen in Manhattan.

###