Burlington's PCB Problem Could Impact Other Schools Across Vermont
Shortly after Burlington High School closed last September because of high levels of airborne toxic chemicals in its tech center building, district Superintendent Tom Flanagan got what he thought was encouraging news.
Further testing in the other five high school buildings found polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels between one and 300 nanograms per cubic meter, with an average of 98 nanograms — still above Vermont's screening level of 15 nanograms per cubic meter but significantly below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines of 500 to 600 nanograms for high school-age students and staff.
"I thought, OK, we're going to be able to get back in here," Flanagan said. He even made what he called the "rookie superintendent move" of telling the girls' soccer team that things looked good for a return to campus.
But the Vermont Department of Health quashed that optimism. "They said, 'No, these are above our screening values ... Our screening values are our screening values for a reason. We are concerned about these numbers. We're concerned about this building,'" Flanagan said. The EPA and the district's consultants concurred.
Read more: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/burlingtons-pcb-problem-could-impact-other-schools-across-vermont/Content?oid=32957658