50 Years Later, Greenpoint Middle School Finally Cleaned of Toxic Soil

GREENPOINT, BROOKLYN — The outside perimeter of John Ericsson Middle School 126 (JMS) in Greenpoint finished the removal of toxic soil laced with Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), a known human carcinogen, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) announced in a letter (PDF document) to the school's administrators in September.

The testing of JMS surface soil for PCBs began in 2011 and was preceded by guidelines set forth by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) in 2007, which established "proper management" of PCBs in caulking used during construction and renovation projects from 1950 to 1977.

The DOE assured school administrators in the September letter that there should be no health concerns related to PCB exposure at JMS following the soil cleaning procedures: "While we understand concerns regarding the presence of materials containing PCBs, the City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) has advised that there is no immediate health concern and that health effects are unlikely at the PCB levels found in some NYC schools."

"Just because somebody is exposed to a small amount doesn't mean they can't have a big effect, and some of the people that are exposed to large quantities of the substance don't seem to have any effect," said Avima Ruder, an Epidemiologist with the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who has researched the health effects of over 25,000 workers exposed to PCBs at electrical manufacturing plants. There has not been a health study conducted on school children and PCB exposure.

The Environmental Protection Agency says "studies in humans support evidence for potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects of PCBs," and have been linked to hormone imbalance and negative effects on the immune system.

PCB concentrations exceeding 50 parts per million (ppm) in soil samples taken at Greenpoint's JMS were detected up to a distance of three feet along the eastern, southern and western sides of the school building according to the Surface Soil Investigation Report published in 2015.

In total, the hazardous PCB surface soils at JMS, which contain PCBs at a rate of more than 50 ppm, were found to cover an area of approximately 4,306 square feet around the school building (study available here).

Soil samples collected along the school's Leonard Street border revealed the most contamination (marked in red below).

In total approximately 319 cubic yards of toxic soil were removed from JMS at a cost of $520,000. The soil remediation started in July 2016 and finished one month later in August and the following actions were performed:

• PCB-impacted soils were generally removed from two to four feet below surrounding ground surface until the analytical results of post-excavation samples indicated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cleanup criteria of less than 1 ppm of PCBs.
• In an area south of the main entrance, soil excavation activities were halted at five feet below surface "due to worker safety and structural integrity concerns." A sub-grade six-inch thick concrete cap (approximately 400 square feet), was installed over this area to prevent or minimize exposure in accordance with EPA regulation.
• Approximately 700 yards of soils containing less than 1 ppm of PCBs were removed and properly disposed in landfills.
• All areas were backfilled with environmentally clean fill.
• The composting machine used for gardening work at JMS was also tested for PCBs in July 2016, and was found to be not contaminated.

We reached out to experts on PCB contamination and will update the article with information as it's received.

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